A Tale of Three Druids
by Raudhr Blodhgarm
Summary: It's a WoW fic, I couldn't find that as a category, so I went with this. It's a tennis between Groose Almighty and me. There will be a sequel! It is about some cool druids and their Lich King adventures. Includes Jack the Monkey!
1. A Strange Discovery

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**Chapter 1: A Strange Discovery**

"Well. I heard you learned a new technique of feral combat." A towering female Tauren muttered to her companion, an even taller male.

"Indeed." He intoned solemnly, carefully picking his way through the craggy terrain of the Barrens.

"What form?" she inquired, even though she already knew.

"Bear. Naturally." He answered. Suddenly, he cocked his head. "Reaperclaw is abroad." He said dispassionately. The female shrugged.

"And what of it, Fliflax?" she queried. He closed his eyes, focusing.

"He is very excited. More so than I have ever seen." He replied, and then began calling his faithful kodo. His sister, Yeow, did the same. "It is a mystery that I intend to solve." Fliflax stated, then leapt on the massively built beast he had just summoned. Yeow followed suit, as she always did, and began pounding across the desert. As they traveled further and further, they began to hear the howls and baying of raptors closing in on prey.

"Strange. I almost thought I heard Troll Drums." Fliflax observed. A deep boom sounded over the Barrens, carrying clearly to the duo. "That is a Troll Drum!" Fliflax gasped in amazement.

"The call for assistance and companionship, only used in the direst of times. Surely a proper Horde soldier would not use one frivolously, but…" Yeow trailed off as the tempo became more frantic. "Let us hurry! One of our allies is on danger!" The tall Tauren cried, and together they raced across the rocks.

She slowed to a stop as they caught sight of a troll- Was he really dancing? They looked for the source of the noise, but it was nowhere to be seen. The troll they had found was fluently moving to the beat the drums laid down. He was perched on a boulder, surrounded by blood-crazed Lashtails, baying for his blood.

Suddenly, he tossed a glitzy cane in the air, twirling end over end. He snatched it deftly out of the air and smashed it into a raptor's skull, all in one fluid motion.

Yeow quickly sent a tiny tendril of power his way, assessing him. To her surprise, he was only a level twenty, by her approximation. She wouldn't know unless a council evaluator actually examined him, but he appeared to have only attained the twentieth level in the Waterskipper Power Scale.

Suddenly, he cried "Do da voodoo shuffle!" Three raptors leapt onto the rock, spreading into a flanking formation. Instantly, the troll shifted, and gained something hard and ugly about his demeanor.

He raised a gloved hand, and a beam of energy struck the leftmost Lashtail from above. The middle one bore down on him, only to be struck, hard, with the cane the Druid carried.

However, he was not defended from the raptor stealthily approaching his right side.

He slammed his cane into the ground, and a suit of thorns encased him, with the only gaps in front of his eyes and mouth.

The raptor he had not noticed crashed into him, talons flashing. Blood spattered the hardened rock, but it wasn't the troll's. The thorns had pierced the tender pads on the raptor's feet, and it howled with pain.

The druid showed no mercy, though, and began gathering a nimbus of energy between his hands, ignoring the blows of the other Lashtails. A burst of energy flew from his clenched fists, ending the life of the target raptor, he spun around to face the other raptors, only to see them backing away.

He took the opportunity to run his hands over his wounds, the rippling disturbances that characterized healing magic racing over his body. Suddenly, every raptor that could sprang towards him, and he collapsed under a wriggling know of bodies. Immediately, Yeow closed her eyes and began muttering inarticulately.

Fliflax charged the beasts, knowing that Yeow was a mighty healer, but would have a rough time in combat against these beasts.

As he ran, Fliflax's muscles contracted, his horns shifted, and his tendons popped, until he morphed into a mighty lion, resplendent in his fury. He roared and sprang into the air, slamming into Reaperclaw, lord of the raptors, claws outstretched. Reaperclaw fell to the ground, his carcass a bloody mess.

His teeth flashed, and the raptors fell like ripe wheat before a finely honed scythe. The few survivors scattered, leaving the mighty Taurens alone with a bloodied, unconscious, mad, and unknown troll druid.

**Oh Ho! A fine little fic about my friends and me having some adventures. This is set in Wrath of the Lich King, previous to Cataclysm. It is co-written by my good friend, Groose Almighty. All who review are recognized in the Author's Notes, including anonymous people. So review! **


	2. The End of A Hero

**Chapter 2: The End of a Hero**

A lone night elf waited in eager anticipation of what would come to pass. He stood outside of Silvermoon City, a rogue stealthed with a blade in his right hand, a bottle of poison in the left. A large group of mounted blood elves were riding toward the grand city. Grand, but still not quite as great as Darnassus, this elf's home.

The crowd of Plain striders would cover him from the guards' watching eyes. If focused on, the stealth wouldn't hold. He needed to get to the Sunfury Spire. That was where the Regent Lord of Quel'Thalas lay.

All this rogue needed was a knife and some poison. The only problem was getting in. The group was almost there. Just a few more seconds until-

The night elf stopped thinking at that very moment, for a proud paladin of the Horde had stabbed him through. The paladin was riding with a group of blood elves, and he sensed the Alliance scum's aura. The other elves gawked as Nordelei raised his blade, covered in blood, with the corpse of the traitor on the end. He kicked it off with his foot, throwing the dead onto the ground.

The group had made it the front gates, ready to deliver a message to their lord. Nordelei felt a strange aura surround him. The aura of the undead…nay…the Scourge! They climbed out the ground with great speed. The minions of the Lich King were upon them! They attacked in large numbers; killing one just led to three more crawling out of the earth.

He felt his mana running out. He looked around him and saw that the abominations were already taking the others away. He tried casting a spell of light on the monsters, but he couldn't. He had nothing left to use.

They grabbed at him, and he struggled as they dragged him away. He saw a tall human in black armor with glowing blue eyes. His hair was white and cut short, twice the size as Nordelei.

"Yes…" he slowly spoke, "This one will do."

As Nordelei felt his consciousness leaving him, he felt a cold prodding at his mind. It craved blood and death. Even as he lost consciousness, Nordelei lost all hope of defending against it…

**Hello viewers! This is Groose Almighty! I wrote this! Review!**


	3. Ma Nostrils Be Whispering To Me

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**Chapter 3: Ma Nostrils be speaking, Mon!**

The proud Tauren druids sighed in harmony. This troll was infuriating!

"No, Resdlen. I can't teach you any spells." Yeow said through clenched teeth, her legendary serenity about to fail.

She had saved the wounded druid, protected him, revived him, and now she was beginning to regret it.

"Hey, mon, c'mon! I always learn a new spell from ma saviors!" the towering Darkspear plead. Yeow took a deep breath. If she had to explain to this druid why she couldn't teach him a spell one more time, she would- "Pleeeaaase?" he begged, clasping his hands together.

"I'll do it. I'm a good teacher." Fliflax offered, sensing the imminence of Yeow snapping and flinging the druid across the Barrens.

"You're a caster?" the Druid asked, turning his head.

"No," Fliflax explained, "I'm a feral druid. I'm going to teach you how to prowl."

The troll cocked his head and parroted "Prowl?" The Tauren nodded.

"It allows a druid in lion form to become invisible, or nigh on invisible, depending on how powerful you are. Go lion." He instructed, and light shimmered over the troll.

His tendons, muscles and stance shifted, and he slid onto all fours, a bright blue lion. Spiral tattoos rippled over his pelt, and two gold earrings shimmered in the hot desert sun. His tusks protruded far out, twisting and curling, far more elaborate than their humanoid manifestation. The powerful, muscled beast cocked its head, seeking further instruction.

The Tauren went through similar transformation, and growled and yipped. The blue lion, clearly understanding, melded into the long grass, shifting with the grass as the hot, balmy wind whistled through it.

It was surprisingly effective, Yeow noted. Fliflax had retained a blurry outline until he was judged to be level thirty. She could, if she squinted, see a faint shape, a suggestion of movement, maybe an odd glimmer as light struck the earring, but the troll was effectively unnoticeable. Nobody would be staring at the grass, searching for a concealed druid.

She continued to examine the patch of grass, but she couldn't see either of the cats. He was catching on fast, Yeow thought.

Suddenly, a howl sounded across the desert, and a huntress collapsed, deep claw marks running through her side. Over her stood Resdlen the lion, baying triumphantly. He trotted back to Yeow, a set of claws dangling from his powerful jaws. Fliflax appeared, standing by her shoulder. Maybe the druid wasn't hopeless, she thought.

Fliflax smashed his head into a table, splintering the wooden furniture. Why couldn't the blasted druid stay out of trouble? "Da voices, da voices in ma head, dey says I crazy, but dey also says that da moss, da moss be creeping, it spies, it spies for da Alliance, we musts kills da moss, da moss be bad, and ma elbows, dey tell me dat you is an alcoholic, yes, dat you been buying cherry grog from dat dwarf in da boat, yes…" The feverish troll rambled, as he had for many hours.

He had gone and bought Sly Denderhoff's Grade E mushrooms, and they left him worse for wear. It had started with hallucinations. Then absent-mindedness. Now this.

Suddenly, the troll leapt from his seat, spry as ever. His hand shot out and slapped Fliflax across the face, and then the mad troll darted from the room, screaming "WHEEEEEEE!" Fliflax peered around the corner, observing the troll flying down the Crossroads main road. He ducked back into the house and began rubbing his temples. He should probably fetch the troll before he challenged a level eighty-five to a mortal duel. But not yet. Or he might kill the troll himself. Yeow swung her head around the corner into the room with a questioning glance. "Next phase. He slapped me and ran off." Yeow shook her head and retreated back into her room at the inn. Fliflax sat there for another moment, and then rose gracefully. Thank Blizzard he doesn't have a mount, he silently thanked, then mounted his Kodo and rode off in pursuit of the druid of questionable sanity.

**Hoorah for a hallucinogenic druid! Never doubt the insanity of Resdlen! By the way, these people are actually all players. I'm Resdlen, Groose Almighty is Fliflax, and his sister is Yeow. Blizzard is the chief god in WoW. At least according to me. Some craziness be going down! Well, that's Raudhr Blodhgarm, signing off.**


	4. A Champion of the Scourge

**Chapter 4: The Champions of the Scourge**

"Go… Death Knight… Show your skills to Razuvious…" the Lich King instructed, "He will teach you…"

"Yes, my lord," Nordelei responded. He had once been a hero. Now in his black plate armor, standing in Archerus, he was a traitor. These thoughts prodded at his mind, but they could not penetrate. His eyes were blue and filled with hate. He walked with no emotion, only the craving for death.

He was no champion yet, considering he had only learned a few spells, none of them involving any weapon work. He stopped at Razuvious. He was twice the size of Nordelei, with short white hair, and silver armor.

"What do you want?" he asked Nordelei, almost spitting at him.

"I want to learn the ways of darkness," the apprentice answered nobly. It was actually a lie. Only the Lich King affected part of Nordelei wanted to learn the ways of the darkness. His real self, the one that was gone from him, was a controller of the light.

"To be a death knight," his instructor told him, "You must have a runeblade. Through it, a death knight controls the power of frost, blood, and the unholiness."

Pulling out a sword from a rack, he continued. "Take this blade," he said, handing it to Nordelei, "and reforge it with the runes of the Scourge."

Nordelei walked hurriedly to the runeforge and stuck the blade inside. He thought of the engraving he wanted on it. The rune of Razorice. He took his blade out, examining the glowing blue light emanating from it. He walked back to his trainer, showing the blade off to him. Even death knights could have arrogance.

The master shrugged, "I would've picked a different rune, but it's your choice."

He turned and started pacing, Nordelei following close behind. "We crave death. We will always have an everlasting hunger for it. The only way to curb that is death!" He said death very loudly, enough to draw a lot of attention to them. He handed Nordelei a key. "Take this," he said, even though Nordelei already figured out that he needed to take it. "Unlock the shackles of one of the failed initiates. Let them get a weapon and put on some armor. You shall have a mortal duel with them," he finished, with a smile on his face.

Nordelei walked to the circle of failed initiates. There were all kinds of races. Night elves, Drainei, Dwarves, Orcs, Goblins, and Taurens were just a few of them. Nordelei saw a sleeping troll and laughed. He would catch the troll completely off guard. He held his key up and started walking to the troll, when a fellow death knight stopped him.

"I wouldn't if I were you," he said to the once heroic death knight.

"Why not?" Nordelei asked.

"Rumors say that he is off his nutter," he explained, "People say that he went crazy during the initiation process."

Nordelei turned from the troll to a dwarf. He had the look that he had lost all hope. He was perfect. Nordelei unlatched the shackles from the dwarf's puny wrists. The dwarf, without a sound, put on the armor that was provided for him. He grabbed his axe and charged toward the challenger. Nordelei held his sword out in front of him. The dwarf couldn't stop the momentum he had, and went straight through the blade.

As the blood elf cleaned his weapon, the shackle key fell out of his pocket. That was all that the troll needed. He immediately grabbed the key with his foot, made a weird motion, and it flew into the air. It landed in the shackle keyhole, and he spun around. The shackles unlocked, and the troll ran past each of the death knights that tried to get in his way.

Nordelei had to admit, he was very graceful. He came to the ledge of Archerus, a 3,000 yard fall. As he swan-dived off, he simultaneously screamed, "Resdlen out!" Nordelei thought the idiot was a goner. He'd be dead before he hit the ground…

Resdlen screamed with joy as he fell. After 3 seconds he realized he was going to die. At the five second mark, he was screaming with fear. After seven seconds, he started to pray. After the praying ended he saw a little blip that was coming closer. It kind of looked like a grif…

He landed on a dwarf riding a griffin. The dwarf fell off and became a small blip in the distance. "Take that, you Alliance moss!" Resdlen screamed at the small bearded man. The griffin was confused and slightly startled, but it tried to continue its regular course. Resdlen wouldn't allow that, though. "C'mon, little woggers!" he screamed at the poor bird, and forcibly turned it toward the Barrens.

When he got there, he dismounted the bird, and it kicked Resdlen in the shins. As he crouched down, holding his shin in pain, he heard a nice beat. He started to dance a little. They were coming from drums, as far as he could tell. Then he started to do the voodoo shuffle. But he forgot something very important. Dancing attracts raptors.

**Groose here! Was that not awesome? Don't deny its awesomeness. REVIEW!**


	5. Trolling!

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**Chapter 5: Dealing with the Troll**

Fliflax trudged back into the Crossroads, Resdlen slung over his shoulder, unconscious. Yeow sighed.

"What are we going to do with him?" She groaned.

Fliflax grinned savagely. "The first thing we're going to do is tie him to a chair and interrogate him to find out what he was doing when we found him. Then, we will all go and conquer a dungeon. Preferably Deadmines. I've always loved that place."

Yeow nodded. "Sounds like a plan." She agreed, and then offered "I'll fetch some rope."

Fliflax tenderly laid Resdlen on the chair. Yeow tossed some rope in from the other room, which Fliflax caught and began wrapping around the hallucinogenic druid.

Suddenly, the Darkspear's eyes snapped open and he bellowed "Ya about ta be Darkspeared!" A two-toed foot flew up and smashed into Fliflax's chin, sending him reeling. His lanky, well-muscled leg bent at an awkward angle and pulled his knife from its sheath. A few lightning-fast motions, and the druid was standing, his glitzy staff held in a battle stance. The butt of the expensive-looking cane flicked out and shattered a window pane, which Resdlen vaulted through.

Fliflax sat, stunned. He was much more powerful than the troll, but every time he tried to best him, the troll slipped through his fingers like oil through a sieve.

Yeow peered around the corner, taking in the smashed window and lack of a mad troll. She shook her head, and ducked under the low slung door. Fliflax made no move to get up, so Yeow stepped into the brilliant sunshine and searched for the escapee.

She grimaced. Fliflax was not going to like this. "I think he's prowling!" she called into the hut, preparing for the response.

"WHAT?" Fliflax burst through the door, flinging it a few yards. Suddenly, a heavy weight landed on his shoulders and sprang onto the roof.

"Resdlen out!" the troll cried, raising his arms to the heavens.

Yeow felt the familiar energy flow from her core. She drew upon her mana well, letting the powerful arcane energy flow to her fingertips. It warmed her, and then she released it, a nimbus of pulsing power crashing into the grinning troll. He collapsed, pain racing through every square inch of him.

But somehow, he managed to draw upon his warm, throbbing core, and let the energies race through himself, repairing every ill that he was suffering from, just before the blast reached his ManaStone, extinguishing its powers.

He leapt from the thatch roof swinging his staff in a massive arc, clipping Yeow in the temple. She hardly noticed, however, and seized him by the tunic.

"You are going to stop resisting, right now, or I will show you hell." She snarled, their faces inches apart.

The troll simply sneered contemptuously, and spat "I am a failed initiate of the Death Knights. I can tell you from experience; Hell is for children."

The Tauren released him gingerly, almost reverently. Some of the finest warriors she knew had been corrupted into Death Knights. It was unheard of for anyone to escape, much less a mere level twenty.

"How?" she asked, her voice little more than a whisper.

"Oh, a key fell out of a death knight's pocket and I opened ma shackles, dove off a cliff, rick-rolled some Alliance moss, and rode a gryphon back 'ere, mon. Then I heard a real good shufflin' beat and started doing da Voodoo shuffle." He replied, his tone light and cheerful.

"How about we go conquer a dungeon?" Fliflax suggested, praying that he would get to smash the Deadmines one more time.

Yeow shot him a glance, but nodded. "Deadmines sounds good."

She turned to Resdlen. "You'll stay here. There will be a portal for you when we get there."

She addressed Fliflax. "You know where Deadmines can be found without a Dungeon Gem, right?" she verified.

Fliflax nodded, and then wordlessly began summoning his trusty Wind Rider, MorningRay. She was the finest Wind Rider he had ever seen.

Yeow followed suit, bringing her respective steed, SharpFang, to her side. They mounted and flew off into the distance.

Resdlen stared after them, and then his thoughts drifted to the current times. Darkmoon Faire was in town, but he had a restraining order on the bartender.

He could go to the Lunar Festival. They welcomed druids of any ilk.

Then there was Love is in the Air. A dreamy smile drifted across his face. He was known to be very active during this time of year. The trolls around Sen'jin village knew him well. He resolved to stop by Orgrimmar before the season passed. There was no lack of pretty girls to talk to there.

A resounding _Bang!_ shocked him out of his stupor. A brilliant green portal rimmed with dark violet had rippled into existence in front of him. Even as he watched, it shimmered and pulsed. Resdlen sucked in a deep breath and stepped through. Portals always made him seasick.

**I'm sorry that it's short, a large chapter, maybe 1500 words, is approaching. Yay for Resdlen being a flirt! Yay for monkeys! Jack the Monkey will come in soon. Well, that's Resdlen out!**


	6. Love Isn't in the Air

**Chapter 6: Love Isn't in the Air**

Tirion Fordring was a hair away from slicing Darius's head in two. But that hair made all of the difference. Tirion put his last effort into that slice, confident in his swordsmanship. He was surprised by his miss, which gave Darius enough time to strike. This was interrupted by another swordsman.

Nordelei had no idea what he was doing. He just attacked. He was taken by something. Compassion. It felt as if he didn't agree with the Lich King. But that was impossible. Arthas knew all. He was the ruler of Northrend. The leader of them all. Nordelei had always trusted the Lich King. It was almost as if something clicked inside his mind…

Nordelei awoke from his thoughts, tripping over a rock. To be more precise, his Deathcharger mount tripped over a rock. They were in Durotar, trying to get to Orgrimmar as fast as his mount's hooves could take them. He was remembering what had happened to lead him here…

"NO!" Darius screamed. Every death knight had already lost to their respective opponents, and Darius was the last one to lose. They had killed all of the Scarlet soldiers in the battle, all of the villagers had been killed when they had destroyed the town, and there were only a few death knights and a few Scarlet priests left. Tirion sent a spell at all of the death knights, stunning them.

"Stop!" Tirion Fordring said very loudly, "Why are we fighting?"

"Because our King commands us!" Nordelei said. He could move his mouth just enough to make out sounds.

"You really think he thought that you could defeat us?" Tirion Fordring continued, "He sent you in, outnumbered. I scanned you, and most of you haven't even achieved the 60th level! The other priests and I are higher than high! We broke the meter! You can't honestly believe that he thought you would win!"

That is when the memories flooded back. The memories of Silvermoon came back to him. He remembered the battle with the Scourge. He remembered being a paladin. And more importantly, he remembered the Horde. He had betrayed them…

He stopped outside of the gates of the Horde capital. It was decorated with hearts and other pink frilly decorations. The Love Is in the Air festival had begun. He walked into the city, followed by being pelted with apples. The guards were not happy to see a death knight waltzing into their city. Nordelei rode to the center of the city, apples stuck on his armor, riding into the warchief's court. Thrall was sitting on his throne, negotiating things with a Goblin. The Goblin was probably just trying to sell Thrall something. He saw Nordelei, standing there, and stared at him with a questioning look.

"What is a servant of the Lich King doing in my court?" Thrall asked, not angry or upset, just curious.

"The Lich King. He is a liar. He betrayed us. Arthas cannot be trusted." Nordelei prayed that Thrall would allow Nordelei and the other previously Horde death knights rejoin the Horde.

Thrall thought to himself if allowing them into Orgrimmar would be a good idea. A Tauren ran into the court and whispered into Thrall's ear. The Tauren left as Thrall nodded. "Considering I have just gotten news that implies that the Lich King has lost most of his servants," he said, "You and your comrades can stay with the Horde." Nordelei sighed in relief. Things might go to plan for once. He looked back outside at the festival. He smiled, picked up a Love Is in the Air flyer, and walked to the Crown Chemical Co.'s booth.


	7. Deadmines Part 1

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**Chapter 7: The Deadmines**

Resdlen tumbled through the Twisting Nether for a moment, all of the lost ideas and thoughts rushing past him.

Then he was on an island. Collapsed on an island, in fact. He staggered to his feet, clutching his stomach. Fliflax stepped away hurriedly, but Yeow was unfortunately oblivious. The troll forced his head towards the sea and was violently sick. His whole body shuddered, and he turned, slid a gauntleted hand over his mouth, and grinned.

"Dat was real good, mon. Gets all of da badness out of ya system." He declared, and then glanced at the forbidding entrance to the cave. He simply cracked his knuckles and a ferocious smile lit up his face.

He felt his essence tugging, pulling, elongating, and then connecting to Fliflax and Yeow's. This intimate contact only proved to him the difference in strength between him and the Taurens.

Fliflax trudged through the entrance, going through the familiar shifting and warping that signaled a change in form. A large heavyset bear trotted into the caves, seemingly very familiar with it. Resdlen followed, on two legs, not four.

As they kept progressing through the damp caves, Resdlen heard snatches of strange noises, like distant explosions, and the clink of metal on stone. Fliflax continued, either not hearing or not caring about the noises. Yeow also showed no response to them.

Finally, a rippling vortex of blue light spanned the tunnel, casting an eerie view on the proceedings. Fliflax stepped through, then Resdlen, and then Yeow. The world distorted for just a moment, and then shifted into recognizable shapes and colors.

Fliflax bared his teeth in what could be described as a bear smile. The members of the Horde standing around saw Resdlen and all began crying out "I got just what you need, just help me with this!" "A real easy task-""Don't listen to them, mine is much-

"HUSH!" Fliflax roared, somehow forcing his bear form to shout out the syllables, albeit roughly. He growled, and then deliberately turned away from them and trotted deeper into the cave. Resdlen followed, but added the showy touch of flipping the quest givers the one-fingered salute, and then running on the side of the wall for a few moments. Yeow walked away, very dignified, very stately, after her brother. The effect was slightly ruined by a loud raspberry blown after her back. The health of the raspberry blower was slightly ruined by Yeow blasting him a few feet through the stone walls.

She jogged after her friends, a mild grin gracing her face. Some ogres stood in on either side of the passage, holding some rather nasty looking hammers in their grubby hands. Fliflax roared, attracting their attention. A blow from Fliflax's powerful paws tore one of them in half, his blood spattering the party and the ground, and a mild spell from Yeow disintegrated the other. Fliflax spat, a foul mixture of blood and spittle falling in a gob to the ground.

He continued down the hallway, and then caught sight of a large room with several ogres and a few cannons manned by ogres.

Suddenly, Fliflax remembered his previous concerns about the Deadmines. He whirled around to Resdlen; he stood there, his eyes wide and twitching.

"DIBS!" the massive troll roared, and leapt into a flying tackle. His head crashed into one of the ogres at a cannon, and deep gouges were punched through the ogre's fleshy chest by the curved tusks of the troll. Resdlen tore his head free, sending the ogre reeling away, clutching his wounds. Seizing the cannon, Resdlen cried "BIG BOOM! NO MORE OGRES! MA CANNON SHALL DESTROY YOU WITH IT'SH AMAZING POWAHS OF EXPLODONATING!" He swung the massive cannon around to face the crowd of ogres. "Boom." He grinned, and the Deadmines began shaking.

Fliflax and Yeow scampered out of the room, seeking to avoid flying cannonballs. After a few moments, the pounding in their ears stopped, and they peered around the corner. A gruesome scene awaited them, the only living thing a bright blue grinning troll, in a suit of crimson armor. Wait, no, that was blood. He gestured for them to follow.

That sort of thing repeated itself for a while, until there were very few cannons left. They emerged into a large cavern, and Resdlen smashed open the great oak doors. A stocky Ettin awaited on the other side, dressed in the manner of a Mosh'ogg shaman or warlock. He screamed something about arcane power, and began flinging spells at the trio. One glowing emerald nimbus clipped Resdlen's shoulder, launching and spinning him.

The Taurens didn't seem to be having any trouble. In fact, they just stood there and were bombarded. Fliflax sent a small quantity of energy into the ogre, not even bothering to shape it with an incantation or even into a spell. The ogre roared, and then connected to the crystals strewn all over the chamber. Energy flowed into him, and superheated boulders began raining from the darkness that Resdlen observed when he looked towards the ceiling. The rocks were mingled with deadly sharp icicles.

Resdlen used the connection to Fliflax and Yeow to draw upon their strength like reservoirs and placed his hands in a sumo pose. He let the arcane energy flow to his extremities, warming him, but did not release it. His hands began to glow and spark with an eerie light, but still he contained it. Finally, he let it release, a mighty nimbus that flung the warlock from his perch in midair. Resdlen watched as whispers of the ogre essence began to curl off him, and then his flesh just dissolved, and his black ManaStone fell to the ground. A crack split it, and then spread, like ice in hot water.

Fliflax reared upon two legs while Yeow and Resdlen dove behind him. A blast of, well, non-light filled the room, and Resdlen felt the fell energies searing, and knew they were capable of great destruction. He worried for Fliflax, but then remembered that Yeow could fortify him against most any attack. The energies melted away, and Fliflax, Yeow and Resdlen all looked at each other. And cheered, smiling and laughing. Maybe I can abide by this crazy old troll after all, Fliflax thought.

**Whoa! Craziness! Well, dat be me, signin' off!**


	8. Shadows in the Darkness

**Chapter 8: Shadows in the Darkness**

The trio stared forward from behind a rock, seeing a horrible sight. There were goblin miners waltzing around the mine without a care in the world. They were being followed by, as far as Fliflax could tell, mine bunnies, serving cocktail drinks to the Defias scoundrels. The goblins weren't mining; they were supervising the real workers: the monkeys. Chains were strapped to their feet, connected to metal balls, restricting their movement.

"Okay," Fliflax started to explain, "We are going to take these goblins one by one-".

"What about the monkeys?" Resdlen said, distressed by the fact that the monkeys might not be freed.

"Resdlen," said Yeow, "Our first and most important task right now is finding Vanessa Vancleef. The chef on the ship is the only one that might know her whereabouts, and we aren't even halfway there."

"NO! MONKEYS, MAN! GOTS TO SAVES DA MONKEYS!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, running straight through the barricade of goblins. As he ran, he shot the metal balls that stuck the monkeys to the ground. Yeow and Fliflax followed close behind, silently hoping that, if he wasn't dead by the time he reached the end of the corridor, that they could heal him enough that he could open a portal to Moonglade to save them all. They passed by the attacking goblins to catch up to the psycho troll.

"For the Horde!" he screamed, "Free mo monkeys! Get mo troops!

They ran into the end of the corridor, a dead end. There was a door, but it would take their combined strength and a minute or two to open it. Fliflax turned, ready to be impressed by the sheer amount of miners. But there was, at least of what he could see, only two left. Two pick axes with blood-tipped edges went straight through the goblins' chests, causing them to fall down. Behind them, a group of monkeys had gathered, each with blood-tipped pick axes, and each standing over goblin corpses.

They all ran to Resdlen, crawling on top of him, showing their love and gratitude for the kindness he had done them. He quickly summoned a portal to Moonglade, stuck his head in, obviously talking to someone, and then shoved all of the monkeys through. Resdlen closed the portal and smiled at the Tauren. "My friend said dat he would take care of da Jack, Phil, Bob, Lewis, Joe, Joey, Bobby, Billy, Amy, Emma, Courtney, and other Jack! Hooray for da Cenarion Square!" he exclaimed happily.

Fliflax decided against telling him that it was called the Cenarion Circle and said, "Guys, let's push this door open."

They pushed the door open, revealing a goblin on top of an oaf. He laughed at them and forced the oaf towards them. He rammed into Fliflax, knocking him from his bear form into his humanoid one. Though, Fliflax wasn't worried until the bomb landed next to him. He jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the explosion.

He looked up, seeing Resdlen shooting Wrath and Starsurge at the goblin-carrying oaf, and Yeow fighting a group of goblins standing on top of a large log, hurling down bombs. Fliflax charged at the oaf, knocking him out from under the goblin. "You cannot defeat me!" the goblin said, "I am the mighty Helix!"

Fliflax went cat from and made a large gash in the oaf's stomach. He bled heavily as he slowly collapsed on the ground. Meanwhile, Resdlen was busy with his own problems. He shot another Starsurge at Helix, which Helix dodged quickly and stealthily. Resdlen shot a few Wraths in quick succession. Helix dodged the first two but fell victim to the third. Aimed toward the despicable goblin lying on the ground, Resdlen charged an extremely powerful shot, but was still in danger.

One of Helix's crew (the goblins on the platform above them) dropped a bomb over Resdlen. Resdlen, channeling his spell, was completely oblivious to the bomb above his skull. As the bomb touched the Darkspear's hair, Yeow shot a spell, knocking it into Helix. It exploded as it landed, spreading crimson across the room.

Helix's crew ran, cowards acting large behind a strong goblin. Fliflax turned into a bear and ran through the door at the end of the room, Yeow and Resdlen following. They flew down a metal ramp, fighting robotic gear shredders as they went. They got to the bottom, surprised at what they saw. An orc inside a large Prototype Reaper was fighting, according to the label on the suit, a Foe Reaper 5000. The Prototype smashed the Foe Reaper's head in, halting the mechanical monstrosity's movement. The orc climbed out of the suit, looking angry, but not quite furious.

"Stupid dwarves," he muttered, "Always building this ****."

Resdlen gasped at the surprising language, but Fliflax just laughed. "So," Yeow asked, "who are you?"

The orc just turned back toward the entrance to the room. Resdlen, in the part of the mind that wasn't totally crazy, was wondering how he got this far into the dungeon without killing any of the creatures in the previous rooms. He stopped in front of the door.

"I hate dwarves."

He then walked through the door, gone from the party's senses. They turned around to the door that would lead them further in. They opened it, leading them into a large room. There was no ceiling and there was a large lake in the middle. Inside the lake was a large pirate ship with the crest of the Defias Brotherhood on the side. It looked kind of nice until they saw the pirates and the cannons. It looked even less beautiful as the cannonballs flew toward them.

"RUN!" Fliflax screamed as he was running back toward the entrance to the room. Resdlen ignored all warnings and ran toward the ship. Yeow and Fliflax started to freak out and follow him.

"Shoot dem from 'ere mon!" Resdlen said, shooting at the pirates and their cannons. Fliflax and Yeow followed his orders, shooting as they went. They finally made it to the top of the ship, the pirates around them massacred. A worgen was waiting for them at the ship, fangs bared. He charged toward them, running past the druids as they jumped away. He stopped at the edge of the ship, charging toward them again.

Fliflax morphed into a bear and took the heat from the worgen. As he collided, he saw that the worgen had a tag that identified him as "Admiral Ripsnarl". Admiral Ripsnarl continued to attack Fliflax while Resdlen shot from afar and Yeow healed Fliflax. With every attack, Fliflax felt Ripsnarl getting stronger. Fliflax tried to scratch him, but Ripsnarl's fur was just as strong as the bear's. Resdlen shot an extremely strong shot, knocking the worgen back. He instantly summoned a bank of fog, disappearing in it.

An army of vapor elementals came out of the fog, attacking the party with wind attacks. Resdlen used a tidal wave attack, blowing the vapors back into the fog. The tidal wave also revealed the coward of a wolf-man. Fliflax felt the presence of Yeow and Resdlen, drawing their powers into him. He released it in a furious charge. As he ran, he transformed into the ultimate creature. A tyrannosaurus of sorts, except with wings of a pterodactyl, horns of a triceratops, and a shell of a turtle, except with spikes.

As he came in contact with the admiral, the admiral flew back into the wall of the cave, instantly dying as he hit it. He fell into the water as Fliflax turned back into his Tauren form, looking pale and drained from the transformation. Yeow felt a presence and turned toward the ship's cabin. A murloc wearing a chef's hat jumped out at them.

"Chef Cookie!" Fliflax exclaimed as he got in his transformation stance.

"That's Captain Cookie to you!" the murloc responded in a croaky voice. He started to throw food at the druids. The druids dodged, but soon, the murloc was throwing them too fast and the trio was getting hit almost every time. Resdlen was still jumping from side to side when he finally realized that Cookie had stopped throwing things.

Fliflax and Yeow were already examining the body. An arrow pulsating with arcane energy was lodged deep inside the creature's throat. Yeow spotted something on a ledge on the west side of the boat. The orc was standing there, carrying a bow with a quiver on his back.

"So," Yeow yelled, "you're a hunter. Anything else you fell like telling us?"

"I only killed that thing because I thought it was a dwarf." He then jumped down from his ledge and walked back to the entrance of the cavern.

Resdlen just shrugged as Fliflax discovered a note on the ground. As he read it, a look of fear crossed his face. He looked up to a ledge above the cabin as the others followed his gaze. Sitting there, on top of the cabin, was Vanessa Vancleef.

"Hello, Uncle Resdlen," she said in a mocking tone.

Both Yeow and Fliflax gave Resdlen puzzled looks, which just made Vanessa more cheerful.

"He didn't tell you, did he?" She jumped down from her perch.

"I was never the master of hand-to-hand combat that my father was," she said, "but I have always been great with poisons." She threw poisonous darts at each druid, stunning them and blurring their vision. They woke up at the top of the ramp in the metal room.

"Have you ever had nightmares?" the daughter of the former Defias Brotherhood leader said, "Or worse, have you ever been in someone else's nightmares?" Vanessa looked like a spirit, like she wasn't really there. They saw Glubtok, the arcane mage Resdlen had previously destroyed. He was screaming. The druids looked around and saw that the entire room was on fire, and arcane beams were shooting everywhere. Glubtok was reacting to the damage like it was his fault.

"Poor Glubtok," Vanessa said cruelly, "When he discovered that he had some of the most powerful arcane power in all of Azeroth, he lost control of them. He destroyed his own village. Get to the bottom of the ramp. Or the fire will get to you first." She smiled at that, and then disappeared. They ran down the ramp, dodging arcane blasts. The fire was getting larger and more spread out, only giving them a few seconds left. They made it to the bottom, immediately feeling the poison through them again.

Vanessa returned and smiled a cruel smile once again. "Helix is an unusual rogue. He chooses to make bigger bangs instead of stealthily moving along. You never know what might skitter in the darkness."

Helix appeared in front of the group, and hundreds of large spiders appeared in the middle of the room. The spiders attacked the group as Resdlen's intelligent side of his brain kicked in, telling him to kill Helix before the spiders.

"Kill da goblin, not da spiders!"

Fliflax scratched Helix in the chest, barely wounding him. The spiders were all over them, and Yeow was having a hard time healing the two fighters and her. Resdlen shot spell after spell, each steadily deteriorating Helix. Fliflax finally broke Helix, making the rogue fall to the ground. The spiders all disappeared as the door in front of them opened. Vanessa appeared once again to tell them of the next nightmare.

"The life of a machine must be hard, especially on of the Foe Reaper 5000, a machine that requires so much power. One spark can make the difference between life," she paused for a moment, "or death!" She disappeared as spinning spark rods spun in the next hallway. Yeow assessed their damage output. Each one had more than enough to kill them in one hit!

She nodded an urgent nod at the others and they ran in, dodging the sparks. Resdlen tripped over a rock right in front of the rod, just about to land on it when he put his hand out and stilted over the last rod. He landed on the other side and smiled, followed by the feeling of the poison.

Vanessa Vancleef appeared once again. They saw the image of a man, growing fur. "Ripsnarl," Vanessa said, "Formerly known as James Harrington, he had a family. Until his tragic transformation." She smiled once again. "Save his family from his clutches, or no one will save you."

They killed the crazy wolves one by one until everybody was safe. Except for his wife. Ripsnarl ripped the girl's chest open and dropped her onto the bridge below. Yeow was the one to summon the other's powers now. She grabbed onto their essences as her arms turned to branches.

In seconds, she was a tree elemental, her hands glowing with the green light of healing. She completely healed her wounds, bringing her back to life. She looked over to see the corpse of James Harrington on the ground. Resdlen and Fliflax high-fived each other in excitement of their successful kill.

They were instantly taken to a forest, and they saw a troll woman and a small troll child. It kind of looked like… Resdlen! Both Tauren looked at the Resdlen from the present. He was keeping his head down, almost knowing what this flashback would show. The other two looked at the scene. A small human baby boy was lying on the ground, in a cradle. The troll picked it up as the past Resdlen looked questioningly at the mother.

The dream shifted to a house. The small boy had grown up, and Fliflax recognized him instantly as Edward Vancleef, father of Vanessa Vancleef. Edward was answering the door, and Resdlen walked in, saying, "Ello, brudah!" In a chair, a woman was cradling a baby girl. Vanessa.

"Happy late baby shower gift thingy!" Resdlen said. The weird thing was that he looked exactly the same as the Resdlen from the present. Vanessa had aged a lot… Resdlen had not. Fliflax contemplated this as the dream shifted to a funeral.

Edward, little 4 years old Vanessa and Resdlen were sitting in the front as the service ended. Yeow assumed that this was a funeral for Edward's wife. Edward asked past Resdlen to look after Vanessa for a few minutes. He walked to the back of the room, his eyes watering. Two men with the badges of the Defias Brotherhood walked up to him as the dream shifted one last time.

Edward was standing on the top of the ship. The present Resdlen was starting to look very angry at the sight of this nightmare. The past Resdlen, still looking the exact same age, was ready to give Edward an ultimatum.

"Edward, you have to stop dis, mon!" Resdlen said, "You already tried to destroy the entire city of Orgrimmar. This Defias Brotherhood has turned you into a monster."

Edward didn't answer. He shook his head vertically. He would not stop. Suddenly, his eyes almost popped out of his head. He fell to the ground as a teary Resdlen holding a bloody knife stood behind him. "I'm sorry, brudah," he said. He saw a little 8 years old girl looking out from the cabin. Resdlen got wide-eyed and ran away in guilt. All of a sudden, the dream morphed around them into one beam. It shot into the head of the present Vanessa. The present Resdlen was also crying and he was the one that was controlling the nightmare beam.

Vanessa, a grown woman, was curled up in a ball on the ground screaming and crying. Resdlen was shooting things worse than Hell itself into her head. She pulled a remote out of her pocket. Yeow was the first to notice. Vanessa pressed the button.

Moments later, the ship was nonexistent.

**This one was long! Well, this is Groose, signing off!**


	9. A Past to Remember

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**A Past to Remember**

Resdlen dove onto the hard boards of the deck, grimacing as he bruised his shoulder.

Vanessa's ship was detonating, Blizzard knows why, and they were still on it. It would appear that Vancleef had planted explosives and was letting them loose.

"Dis way, mon! Dere be some ropes!" Resdlen cried, and leapt for a rope. He sensed, rather than felt, his companions do the same. His strong blue hands closed around the rope, and he began swinging through the air, in a manner similar to some monkeys use vines. "Wait a moment…" he muttered as a thought struck him. "What's holding da ropes?" He glared up, to find the ropes suspended on nothing. "Meh." He shrugged; there were weirder things in the world.

As they slammed into a ledge, Yeow knelt and began healing all their wounds, just as Vanessa's ship began to detonate, prow first. A piece of nondescript debris crashed into the orc's forehead, and hetumbled over the edge. Only to be caught by Resdlen, seizing the orc's wrist. "Dear lord," he muttered as his comrade's weight threatened to break his arm, "Da Orcs are heaviah den dey look, and dey dun look light." He gasped, praying that the weight wouldn't simply snap Resdlen's arm while the hunter plummeted to his death.

Fortunately, his prayer was answered by Yeow, hefting them both back onto the ledge. The ship began to blast with new intensity, and Resdlen, in his somewhat fevered wisdom, snapped open a purple rimmed gate to Moonglade. "Gah in, or die. Ya choice." He declared, waiting for the others to stride through. The Orc didn't quite stride through, as he was unconscious over Fliflax's shoulder, but he did make it in. Resdlen followed through, just as the ship exploded picturesquely in the background.

The party began to wander their separate ways, including the Orc, due to the healing powers of the druids of the Cenarion Circle. However, he was forcibly ejected from the location due to his violence against the dwarf residents of the glade.

"Nah. I'm not gonna pay ya." Resdlen stated to the flight master, who was unfortunately unaware of his questionable sanity.

"Sir, I'm not asking for"-

Resdlen shushed him, and declared "I simply won't, sir. Last time I checked, da Square give ya rides fah free. And I tink ya just trying to get da money fah yaself. If ya ain't gonna follow da traditions, I'll just have ta walk home, and I'm willin'."

The flight master flung his arms in the air and cried "FREE!"

Resdlen nodded and said "Dat's what I'm talking 'bout, mon. Dun be betrayin' da Cenarion Square." In Resdlen's arms a large monkey sat, peeling a banana. As he mounted the wind rider, he called "Tanks fah takin' care of Amy, Phil, Bob, Lewis, Joe, Joey, Bobby, Billy, Emma, Courtney and othah Jack!" A massive grin graced his face as he flew to the Crossroads.

As Resdlen dismounted the borrowed wind rider, he glanced around at his home. A deep, contented sigh slipped from his lips. The landscape may be, well, barren, but it was home. Then he was punched with great gusto in the gut. As he crashed into a wall, he pondered, quite calmly, who was assaulting him. And then a great smothering blanket of darkness enveloped him, and he welcomed it, knowing that he would wake up.

When he stirred, he was mildly irritated. For one, a headache pounded in his skull. Second, he was tied to a chair. Which usually suggested that he was going to be tortured in the near future. Ah well, he thought. It's not as if he's never had that happen. In fact, he invented most of the forms of torture commonly used at that time.

Fliflax strode in, which somewhat surprised him, but he accepted it with equanimity. Resdlen glanced around the room, observing. It appeared familiar, almost- Ah-Ha! This was Fliflax's room, where he had been imprisoned before. "Ya mon? Can we get straight ta de answahs, and skip da torture?" Fliflax grinned savagely.

"That depends," his voice boomed, "you can be cooperative, or you can be resistant and get tortured."

"I'd rathah not."

"I'm not giving you a choice."

"Ya just did."

"That's hardly a choice."

"I'm hardly sane."

"Insane or no, you can still feel pain."

"Ah, some of ya ignorance is revealed."

"Surely you feel pain."

"Maybe, maybe not. But I'm sure ya do."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Ja."

Fliflax growled menacingly, and his arms swung in a wide arc. Resdlen prepared for the impact of Fliflax's staff and his jaw. It never came. Resdlen's eyes opened, and saw that Fliflax must have missed.

But something seemed missing, in his peripheral vision. Oh no, he thought, a realization coming to him. His eyes crossed as he stared at the shattered remnants of his tusk. A feral roar filled the air, and Resdlen screamed "JA WANT TO KNOW MA PAST? WELL, HERE YA GO!" A blast of arcane energy formed a halo around Resdlen, hesitating for one moment, and then flinging outwards. Fliflax grunted as his world disappeared.

Suddenly, he was in a ship, swaying and rolling. He was sitting in a somewhat uncomfortable chair, and across from him sat a dwarf. The stench of sweat and alcohol rolled off of the dwarf, who clutched a drumstick in his hand. Somehow, he knew he was on the Maiden's Love, the predecessor to the Maiden's Fancy. He also knew that the dwarf across from him was Steelbelly, the galley chief of both the Maiden's Love and the Maiden's Fancy.

"So ya saying dat I 'ave to 'ave survived a shipwreck ta get an earring?" A very familiar voice came out of the mouth Fliflax felt as his own.

The dwarf nodded, and said "Aye. Though some hooligans have been buying 'em without the right, the idiots! It means nothing unless the tradition is respected."

Resdlen rose, and told the dwarf "A moment." He trudged up the stairs, or rather, so did Fliflax, and he squinted in the brilliant sunshine. He could feel everything, and yet he knew he was in Resdlen's body, sometime in the past. He approached the captain, and Fliflax had an idea of what he was going to do.

The goblin spun around and snapped "Whadda ya think you're"- whatever he had to say was lost after that, for Resdlen flung him over the side of the ship, and wrenched the wheel to one side. He staggered back down the stairs to the galley, raising a hand in greeting to Steelbelly.

"Two things," Resdlen said, holding up his fingers, "One, where can I get a good earring? Two, duck." The troll dove to the ground just as a rock jutted through the wall of the ship, narrowly missing the stocky dwarf. The whole ship canted to the left, and Resdlen realized that the ship was about to do a barrel roll. "ABANDON SHIP!" He cried, sprinting up the stairs. He heard the thump of the dwarf hot on his heels. He clambered up the stairs, which were now somewhat horizontal. As he dolphin-dived over the rails, Steelbelly's hand seized the troll's ankle, sending them both tumbling into blackness.

%^%

Resdlen sputtered, gasping for air and struggling to stay afloat in the thrashing sea. He prepared to make for shore when he saw Steelbelly thrashing, his beard flopping around wetly. The troll wrapped his arm around the befuddled dwarf's throat, and hauled him to shore.

Resdlen lay there, staring at the stormy skies, not a thought in his head. He wasn't sure how long he lay there, but eventually his stomach woke him.

He grunted, and began collecting twigs and logs for a fire. As he rummaged, a tap on his shoulder startled him.

"Ahem." The throaty voice of Steelbelly snapped. Resdlen winced.

"I did save ya life," He started, but the dwarf held up a hand.

"I'll be discussing nothing with you until we are sheltered, fed, and working on a way out of here." Resdlen nodded. He trudged back to camp, and arranged a fire.

Steelbelly scoffed. "I'll be cooking of course. I am Steelbelly, the renowned chef after all." Resdlen shook his head. The dwarf snorted. "You wouldn't know fine cuisine if it hit you in the face!" he cried.

The troll chuckled and replied "That's the point. Food isn't supposed to be able to slap you." The dwarf huffed, but sat next to the troll anyways. Resdlen occasionally stoked the fire, poking it with a stick.

Eventually, he planted his hands on his thighs and instructed Steelbelly "Keep the fire going. If I come back, and ya gone, don't expect a rescue mission." He trotted off, slinging a nasty looking polearm from his back. Suffice it to say, a long episode occurred, and the results were that Resdlen had several slabs of meat, and the forest was slightly less populated and much bloodier.

He gouged his fire-poking stick through the three slabs of meat. Fetching two Y-sticks, he stabbed them into the ground, and laid the stick across them, making a makeshift spit. He sighed. "Look," he began, but Steelbelly stopped him.

"Neither of us have a decent shelter, nor a good way out of here. I'll work on a hut. You need to work on a raft. Or, of course, you could scout out the area. Find a town, hopefully one with an inn." The dwarf stated.

"I wonder what dwarves taste like? Probably a bit stringy." Resdlen mused. Steelbelly shot him a glare, but rose nonetheless to prepare the shelter. Resdlen continued his monotonous pattern of turning the spit, and finally removed the meat from the spit, laying it out on a rock.

He rose, and stretched, rolling his shoulders. Glowing emerald orbs formed around his hands, and he focused intensely on a tree. Three treants, or tree men, peeled off the trunk and puttered over to him.

"Anyone tries ta take da meat, kill 'em. Kill 'em extra hard if dere a human." They showed no acknowledgement, but he knew that they had heard of them.

His muscles began contracting, his jowls jutting forward, his spine bending. Fur sprouted from his body, and soon, he was a cheetah. Bounding off into the desert terrain, he snarled gleefully. And then a commando in plate armor crashed into him.

"HELP!" Resdlen cried, slashing at the commando's face, the only unprotected part of him. A knife blade struck his ribs, just as his powerful jaws crushed the human's windpipe. Shifting back into his troll form, he sealed the cut, and many others besides.

He sighed. Apparently, he thought, he was going to have to do this the hard way. Muscles rippling, he transformed into the famous bright blue lion, and began sliding through the grass, ever so stealthy. The whole experience blended, being so monotonous.

However, the pattern was broken when Resdlen peered out of the grass and observed a goblin. This goblin was clearly a warrior, clad in plate armor, a brutal mace in his hand. What most surprised Resdlen, though, was the crest on his shoulder. It was not any crime syndicate he knew of, nor anything else he knew of. He deciphered the runes above the crest. R-A-T-C-H-E-T. Ratchet. That was where he had been headed, wasn't it? Ah well, he thought, time to alert Steelbelly.

Suddenly, he realized something. The treants wouldn't know the difference between Steelbelly and a thief. He bounded off, putting all of his energy into his movements, batting aside any humans that dared attack him.

The sounds of wood dully smacking flesh floated to him. And then the sounds of wood being bludgeoned to a pulp. Resdlen roared, crashing into the last treant. It splintered beneath his paws, the energy that Resdlen had used to sustain it released. He turned to look at Steelbelly. The glare on Steelbelly's face told Resdlen that he had best have a damn good explanation for this.

"I found Ratchet." Resdlen announced as he morphed into a troll. Steelbelly's face lit up with glee, and he dashed off to find it, Resdlen close behind.

%^%

Resdlen cheered as he downed his fourth cherry grog. Today was a good day, so far. Despite his drunken appearance, his mind was sharp and nimble. He detected a tingle in his pocket. His hand seized the thief by the collar and flung him into the counter. He was surprised, however, when he saw a regal looking Blood Elf sprawled across the bar.

"And who would ya be?" Resdlen demanded, his knife in hand.

"Everlight to my friends, sir to you." The thief sniffed.

"And why, pray tell, where ya picking ma pocket?" Resdlen continued.

"I wasn't. My hand brushed your pocket, and then you grabbed me and assaulted me. You, my friend, are the criminal." The Blood Elf spat. Resdlen chuckled.

"Indeed. Follow me. I'll show ya someting."

The Blood Elf chuckled. "Nab him." He nodded to someone behind Resdlen. Before the troll could respond, four strong arms seized him. They hauled him away, ignoring the pungent curses drifting to their ears.

**Waatralla! Pretty crazy, right? Well, it may not be as long as Groose's chapter, but it's damn long nonetheless!**


	10. Love is in the Spritzer

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**Love is in the Spritzer**

"What do you mean I killed your assistant?" Nordelei screamed in the face of a goblin.

"Well, when I walked over here," the goblin explained, "you were standing over my dwarven assistant with a blade, so you obviously are the homicidal dwarf-killer that's been running around!" There had been a dwarf-killer running about, but the reports had started a while back, while Nordelei was still at the Ebon Hold, and the reports were of a person with a larger body, presumably an orc, or some type of fat troll. But this investigator guy refused to believe anything that the blood elf said.

"Since my assistant is no longer living," the goblin said, with an angry tone, "you're going to help me with my investigation!

"But," Nordelei said, getting impatient, "I was planning on going to Northrend. There's a campaign against the Lich King!"

"What's more important, fighting the Lich King, or stopping love spreading through the air?"

The investigator immediately realized how stupid the thing he just said sounded, and started to figure out ways to reword it in his head. As the goblin was deep in thought, Nordelei slipped away and behind a building, out of sight from the love-hater.

He mounted his Deathcharger and ran to the Horde Registaration Center.

"Why do you want to join the battle against the Lich King?" the troll secretary asked, making Nordelei think that trolls weren't as energetic as they were made out to be.

"Well," Nordelei said, "I really want to help the Horde and-"

"You just want the money, don't you?" the troll accused the death knight.

"No!' Nordelei retaliated, "I want to help defeat the Lich King!"

"Yeah, yeah," the troll said, monotonously, handing him a form, "Just fill this out and come back when you have it ready. If it's good, then you can go 'help people' or whatever it is that you do."

Nordelei walked away to a writing center, a place where quills and ink were available to people who didn't have them at their house. Or to people that didn't have a home, which was the case for most death knights. He walked in and sat at the nearest available table. After filling it out, Nordelei came to the center again and handed it in.

Name: Nordelei

Class: Death Knight

Specialization: Blood

Race: Blood Elf

Level: 69

Residence: N/A

Age: 34

The troll looked over the form, put it at the bottom of a large pile consisting of many other forms, and started writing something down.

"Well," Nordelei expectantly said, "do I get to go to Northrend?"

"We'll get to your paper in a few months and let you know," the troll explained.

Nordelei was distraught as he walked away, wondering how they could pass on such great warriors just because they were at the bottom of the pile.

"Let me guess," a voice said from an alley, "You got put at the bottom of the pile and you don't think that's very fair." The owner of the voice walked out from the alley, showing him to be an orc. He had a bow on his back and heavy armor. It wasn't plate, just mail. From this, Nordelei concluded that this person was a hunter.

"How'd you know?" Nordelei questioned.

"I applied to that too," the hunter said, "I figured that because it's cold and snowy up there, dwarves would love it there, and I would be able to kill them. Now my dreams are ruined." He frowned at the last sentence.

Nordelei assumed that this was the homicidal dwarf killer that had gotten him in trouble earlier, but he was going to let it pass.

"How about we go to Northrend?" Nordelei asked cheerfully.

The orc looked at the blood elf like he had said that he wanted to be friends with a gnome (which was terrible because gnomes were the most widely hated race in all of Azeroth, even by the Alliance).

"I mean," Nordelei further explained, "we should sneak onto the zeppelin to Northrend."

"Brilliant!" the orc exclaimed.

"Okay," Nordelei said, "I'll meet you at the inn in a half an hour, all right?"

The orc nodded and ran off, happy that his homicidal rampages would continue. As Nordelei started to devise a plan in his mind, he was grabbed and pulled behind a building. The puller was none other than the idiotic inspector from before. Nordelei saw the goblin's nametag, it reading "Investigator Snap Snagglebolt".

"Okay," Snagglebolt said, "a weird epidemic's been going arou-"

"I am not your assistant!" Nordelei argued.

Snap looked at Nordelei with angry eyes, and then started again. "The Crown Chemical Company has created a perfume, that when applied to someone, it makes them love everyone and be nice." He said it with a disgusted tone.

"Why is this bad?" Nordelei asked.

"Just go to Shadowfang Keep," the inspector said, "According to this list, the leader of the Company is there. If you can get rid of him, love will stop being in the air!" He walked away, thinking about how bad it would be if everyone loved eachother. Nordelei's mind, though, was thinking about the flight to Northrend.

A half an hour later, the orc spotted Nordelei walking into the inn. The orc stuck his hand up, letting Nordelei know where he was sitting. He sat down at a table, across from the hunter.

"First things first," Nordelei started, "We haven't learned each other's names yet. I'm Nordelei."

The orc sat there, saying nothing. Finally, he said, "If this plan of yours works, I'll tell you."

10 minutes later, Nordelei knew that he wouldn't find out the orc's name anytime soon. They were in the Orgrimmar Jail. They had decided to play it simple: sneak below deck and hide. The hiding was the faulty part.

"Worst. Plan. Ever." The orc wasn't very happy with Nordelei's planning abilities, and Nordelei didn't have a hard time seeing why. A tauren walked into the room and unshackled the pair. Nordelei gave him a questioning look.

"You've been bailed out."

Then walked the least likely person Nordelei would've thought would walk in: Inspector Snap Snagglebolt.

"I've bailed you two out for one reason: Kill Apothecary Hummel." He smiled, knowing that Nordelei owed him. "He's located in Shadowfang Keep, and he's the leader of the Crown Chemical Company. He must die. Along with his associates."

"DIE!" one of the apothecaries screamed at the orc, throwing a vat of perfume on him. He quickly put on his perfume neutralizer, and when the perfume covered him, he was unharmed. Meanwhile, Nordelei was busy fighting an apothecary that went back and forth from throwing perfume to throwing cologne. Nordelei was having a hard time switching neutralizers.

The crazy apothecary threw cologne. Nordelei spun around and moved to the right, still rushing toward the crazy one. He then threw perfume, which Nordelei jumped over. As he came down, with his sword imbued with the darkness of the Scourge, Nordelei stabbed the apothecary through.

The orc and Apothecary Hummel were having a ranged battle, each of them dodging each other's attack. Finally, Hummel slipped and the orc shot an explosive shot, blowing Hummel up. The room looked decorated for Love is in the Air, because most of those decorations are red (if the implications aren't obvious enough, the room was decorated with blood from Hummel).

There was one more apothecary, trying to save his work, but the orc made quick work of him. He shot an arcane shot straight through his heart.

The orc frowned. "All of the apothecaries were undead," he said, "I was hoping for some dwarves."

Snap handed a zeppelin ticket to both Nordelei and the orc. They read them, instantly getting excited. They were tickets to Northrend.

"Why are you giving these to us?" Nordelei asked.

"There have been some Crown Chemical people spotted in Crystalsong Forest," he said, "I'm sending you two there to stop them." The orc and Nordelei frowned, wishing they could go to fight the Lich King.

Snagglebolt smiled. "Though, I don't think it would take long," he said, "And if you had any free time, you could always hang out, destroy an evil king or something like that."

"Thanks," Nordelei said. He and the orc walked to the zeppelins, as happy as anyone could be.

"So," Nordelei started, "What's your name. We're going to Northrend, like I promised."

"Oktago," the orc said, "Just call me Oktago." He grabbed Nordelei at the throat. "If you tell anyone my name," he said, "You won't live to tell someone else. Got it?"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it."


	11. MUST KILL ROGUES

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**Chapter 11: MUST KILL ROGUES**

Resdlen, Yeow, and Fliflax snapped back into reality, staggering at the vertigo. Resdlen snarled. "Anyone feeling like fixing da tusk?"

Yeow stumbled to her feet and fixed Resdlen with a suspicious glare. "Who were those people that dragged you away, and what happened next?" She demanded, her paranoia un-soothed.

"Dey were criminals. I joined up wit dem. Twenty five years I spent murderin' and tievin'. Den a Death Knight came along. Thought I was Tokgarad, ma brother. Informed me dat he's a Death Knight now. I left. Dey never let go of da grudge I left. I've got a few scars from ma encounters wit dem. I imagine by now I should be able to deal with all five of 'em." He stated dispassionately, as if commenting on a stranger's misfortune.

Yeow, once again, was impressed with this enigmatic troll.

"You seem to have a knack for hurting yourself, Resdlen." Fliflax observed.

Resdlen flung a knife at the unsuspecting Tauren's head and screamed "No maudlin for you! To da land of da Lich King! We shall unleash da rage of da great Jack da Monkey! All shall fear his magical powers!" he dashed out of the hut, his monkey friend clinging to his back.

Fliflax stepped away from the knife embedded into the wall next to his head. "To Northrend we go, I suppose." He sighed

%&%

Resdlen, Yeow, and Fliflax continued bickering with the troll at the registration counter.

"Protocol is protocol, mon. I'm putting ya at da bottom of da pile, and dat's dat. If every adventurah dat wanted to try ta slay da Lich King got through, all da warriors would be gone at once, and da Alliance would get us. Ya got ta wait."

Fliflax opened his mouth to spit out a withering reply, but Resdlen shushed him.

"He's right. Protocol is protocol. But, if I'm correct, we wait in a different line since we're already in a group." The Northrend Registrar grinned.

"Well, dat would be da case, but ya argued wit me, so I tink ya be waiting in da regular line."

Resdlen simply grinned and replied "Good policy. I'm sure dat ya follow it rigorously. But ya know, sometimes one gotta take a break. Come wit me, I'll buy us both a round at da pub."

This caught the drowsy registrar's attention, and he quickly agreed. Fliflax and Yeow gaped, dumbfounded, as Resdlen cordially took the man to the Valley of Strength pub. Fliflax shook his head in disgust.

"Traitorous troll." He muttered, turning to leave. Suddenly, Resdlen came dashing down the road, jumping and clicking his heels as he went. He smirked impishly at the Taurens. He held up a sheet, complete with signature from the registrar.

"Good ol' druid magic. And beer. Beer helped too. I gave 'im a few shots o' Sulfuron Slammer, convinced 'im to sign, den cast Hibernate on him. He'll wake up mad in about an hour." The troll announced proudly.

"Hibernate only works on semi-sentient beings, Resdlen…" Yeow warned him, expecting a somewhat drowsy Registrar leading some guards towards them at any moment. The troll snorted.

"Two tings. One, I'm a powerful druid. Two, he was drowsy and an idiot. I'm not sure if he counts as a sentient being." Fliflax nodded grudgingly, accepting the insult.

"Well," Yeow stated briskly, clapping her hands together, "time to hop a ride to Northrend, eh?" Suddenly, a bedraggled Forsaken seized her forearm.

"Help me, madam. Let me join your group, please? I'll carry my own weight." He promised, a desperate gleam in his eye. Or what was left of it, anyway. Yeow hesitated for a moment, but finally shrugged and connected the rogue to her consciousness, as well as the males'. He grinned at her. Well, he tried, but he had no jaw, so it came off more as a slight shift of the rotten skin on his face. The Tauren grimaced, and led the group to the zeppelin.

#$#

Resdlen glanced around at the others on the airship. Almost all of them were grimacing Death Knights, revenge on their mind. The rest were hunters or warriors. All of them shot Resdlen derogatory looks. An orc snickered behind the back of his hand, and whispered something to a Blood Elf Death Knight sitting next to him. Resdlen shook his head.

Everybody blamed the druids because they didn't wear plate. Let's see their plate armor deal with a frickin' bear paw.

A troll death knight rose, and two seeming cronies rose with him. Resdlen glared at them. He could have sworn he knew one of them… damn.

Resdlen staggered to his feet and backed away. Fliflax glanced questioningly at the troll, but had come to expect nonsensical acts from Resdlen, and dismissed him.

"So…" a deep rumbling voice emanated from the Death Knight.

"I swear, if ya come near me, I'll blow you off dis ship and laugh as your guts spill onto the desert floor." Resdlen snarled, drawing a glowing dagger from his belt. A tendril of purple light sprung from the Death Knight's hand and yanked Resdlen towards his forbidding blue eyes. Resdlen slammed the curved dagger into the troll's outstretched palm, punching through the gauntleted hand to emerge on the other side. The Death Knight withdrew his hand hurriedly, but showed no sign of pain. Two pairs of plate-clad hands seized him and held him in front of the Death Knight. The troll drew a flaming warhammer from his belt and drew it back for a crushing blow. Just as the hammer shattered the troll's jaw, shadows wreathed it, dancing and twirling in the ethereal light cast by the Death Knight's visage. The druid fell limply to the ground, like an oversized broken marionette.

A powerful bear paw raked across one of the crony's chest, and he collapsed as Fliflax snarled his victory. Yeow staff struck the other Death Knight's temple, and the heavily armored warrior dropped.

The remaining Death Knight chuckled, and chains of ice sprang from the deck of the ship and wrapped around the struggling bear. Frost rippled over Yeow's fur, and she froze in place, an enraged expression on her face.

The Death knight knelt and placed either hand flat on his head, and then lifted him so that his eyes were level with the druid's dull gaze. "So, Resdlen. Do you remember me?" he asked, shaking the druid. Resdlen nodded weakly, pain evident on his face. "What's my name?" he demanded, his expression concealed by his massive helm.

"Tok- Tokga- Tokgarad." Resdlen answered weakly.

"How do you know me?" The Death Knight asked.

"Brother." Resdlen muttered, his strength draining out of his body. Downstairs, a vending machine popped open, and beverages spilled over the floor. A tiny smile graced the druid's face for just a moment, and was gone just as quickly. The combined seltzer, water, and alcohol began to pool in the middle of the floor. Directly under where Resdlen was.

"What did you do when the Scourge came and attacked, when they killed Father?" The Death Knight demanded, rage seeping into his voice.

"I ran." Resdlen whispered, all of his strength dedicated to another task.

"That's right. You didn't kill a single thing, because you were too weak. You knew some magic, you could have helped. So hit me with your magic. Show me what you've accomplished, what you used that precious time that cost our family's life for."

Resdlen looked his brother dead in the eye, and responded "I learned to do this." And a great wave of mixed beverages blasted Tokgarad over the rails and plummeting towards the ocean. The Death Knight laughed.

"I'll just sink into the water, and escape without a single injury!" he called up to the zeppelin.

And then his boots gained a light blue hue, and the Death Knight sucked in his breath. It was a spell that allowed one to walk on water. It turned the water below oneself to ice as hard as rock. Hard enough to easily smash the Death Knight's plate armor.

A sickening crunch somehow carried to the passengers of the zeppelin, and the Blood Elf Death Knight Resdlen had noticed earlier caught the druid's eye. The blood Elf nodded almost imperceptibly, and Resdlen knew that he was the one that had cast the water-walker spell.

Two rogues unstealthed next to Resdlen and muttered "I was going to help, I promise." Resdlen shot them a dirty glare, and then realized that there were two hitching a ride with him. The authorized rogue noticed his rising rage and muttered "He needed help, we'll hold our own weight, we promise." Resdlen struck both of them back-handed, and then plopped into his chair, as he thawed the Taurens. All that he could think was MUST KILL ROGUES.

**I really hate rogues. The next chapter is by me, not Groose, like usual. God, I really hate rogues.**


	12. MUST KILL ROGUES Pt 2

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**Chapter 12: MUST KILL ROGUES Pt. 2**

Yeow waved her hand, and green light blossomed over the wounds on Fliflax's back. She turned, and began ministering to Resdlen.

However, the troll continually argued and cursed pungently, telling her to, removing all profanity, "F*ck off, go f*cking tend to the f*cking Death Knight that saved her f*cking life, and her ugly *ss had best f*cking heal him," until she surrendered and began weaving the muscle of the Death Knight back into place.

She cocked her head. She could have sworn she'd seen that orc before… Oh yeah! The dwarf murderer! "YOU! Tell me your name, right now, or I swear, I will hurl you off this airship!" She demanded, raising an accusing finger at the unsuspecting orc. As usual, he showed no emotion.

"No." he replied flatly. She blew out air through her nostrils in a frustrated noise.

"Fine. How can I find out your name?"

"If you do him a favor, he tells you." the Death Knight put in helpfully, earning a glare from the orc.

A sly grin crept across Resdlen's face, but it quickly disappeared due to the pain of dozens of wounds. "We'll help ya find some dwarves, teach da cowards a lesson!" he offered. Fliflax glared at the troll.

"We're not here to"-

Resdlen back-handed the Tauren, silencing him. The orc pondered the proposition, and then nodded.

Fliflax growled. He seized the two undead rogues that had stowed away and dragged them below deck. A few strangled yelps echoed up to them, quickly stifled, followed by a dull thud.

The Death Knight rose and gracefully bowed. "I am known as Nordelei. I do not believe I have had the pleasure of meeting your party before. Wait…" he trailed off, pointing at Resdlen. "I've met that one. But where?" Resdlen smirked.

"Couldn't be da time I danced away from every Death Knight dat tried ta stop me after ya freed me, could it?" He snidely asked. The Death Knight grimaced. Razuvious had not been merciful with Death Coil when punishing the Blood Elf.

"Beginning to regret saving him? Yeah, been there, done that." Yeow sighed, comparing the Resdlen she knew to the troll she had found dancing on a rock. Then she compared him to the criminal he had been in the past. A fickle troll, she decided. Resdlen grinned.

"A fickle troll indeed." He muttered, shocking Yeow. She hadn't said that out loud, had she? Resdlen grinned once more. "Nope. I'm just good like dat."

Fliflax returned with two unconscious rogues, a feral grin on his face. The ship shuddered, and landed firmly on the ground. Resdlen vaulted over the rails and began sprinting towards a heavily armored Warsong Hold warrior.

As the troll approached, the warrior cried "Ho there! You seem a stout soldier! How would you like to help the Horde conquer Northrend?" Resdlen nodded, though his hand was on his dagger. "Excellent! Report to Commander Garrosh Hellscream. He'll tell you how you can help. And before you go," he seized Resdlen's arm, "the Commander is not tolerant of incompetency. I suggest you be wary of him." Resdlen nodded dutifully and trudged towards the great Warsong Keep.

#$#

"That Garrosh Hellscream is the most pompous, fanatical, idiotic, brutish, commander that ever walked Azeroth!" Fliflax roared.

Yeow patted his shoulder soothingly, reminding him "He did let us into the Borean Tundra to fight, you know."

Fliflax grudgingly nodded, and turned to Resdlen. "Where are the rogues?"

Resdlen shrugged dismissively and replied "Oh, ya know rogues. Always off comparing dere dirks." He shifted into a faintly ridiculous voice, saying "No, mine is clearly bigger. No it's not, mine is enormous! Well mine's sharper at the very least."

Fliflax chuckled. "Indeed." Resdlen rose.

"I'll see if I can find anyting worth eating 'round here." Fliflax nodded, and began methodically constructing a small fire.

Resdlen wandered quite a distance, quelling the beats he encountered. Eventually, he found a lizard about as tall as his knee. He kicked the thing, and began cleaning it.

Jogging back to camp, he stumbled over something. Turning back to look, it was the corpses of two very familiar Forsaken rogues. He shrugged and trudged back to camp.

When he arrived, the Orc and Death Knight he had seen earlier were huddled around the meager fire, while Fliflax and Yeow paced, warm in their tiger forms. He greeted them silently, and began roasting the lizard flesh. Pulling the rare meat from the spit, he handed it out.

"Good food, good company." He declared, only half joking.


	13. The Time of Drunks Pt 1

**The Time of Drunks: Part 1**

"My point is," Resdlen explained, "if you're goin' to hug a girl, you gotta do it right." He was sitting in front of a campfire, surrounded by his companions and a frozen wasteland. He was roasting a spider leg in the fire in one hand, and had a bottle of 'Darkmoon Special Reserve' in the other, which was rumored to make a person instantly drunk. This theory was proved minutes beforehand.

"Why would you even hug girls?" Oktago said, "You could always hug dwarves. With axes. Smothered in poison."

"Uhhh..." Nordelei started, motioning toward the air, "What is that?"

"How do you not know what poisons are?" Oktago questioned, missing the previous motion.

"Not that!" Nordelei replied, pointing toward the air, "That."

A bronze blur in the sky was bolting towards them. Oktago realized all too late that it was coming toward him-

"AUUUUGGGGHHH!" Oktago screamed, stuck under the assaulter. It got up, revealing itself to be one of the Bronze Dragonflight.

"Sorry, sorry," the drake said in a nasally, nerdy voice, "I just learned how to fly in cold weather. More difficult than you'd think."

"Hey, man," Resdlen said, still drunk, "Do you know the correct way to hug a girl?"

"No…" the drake answered, wondering what the heck this troll was talking about.

"Augh!" Resdlen exclaimed, storming off into the wintery wasteland.

"Eh," Fliflax said, "He won't get far."

"Anyway…" the drake said, almost scared by the strange group that he had come across, "My name is Drakenrakenfalacken."

"Sounds like some stupid dwarf name," Oktago spat at Drakenrakenfalacken.

"You can just call me Drift, though…" Drakenrakenfalacken replied, resenting the insinuation that his name was from dwarves. It was much more similar to an elf's name. He continued, "Do you happen to be adventurers?"

"A bit… yeah… I guess," Nordelei responded to the off-topic question.

"Why?" Oktago demanded. Yeow looked at him with a surprised look. She then realized he had the Darkmoon Special Reserve in his right hand, and froth around his mouth.

"Well…" Drift started, "We have a bit of a problem."

"Guys!" Resdlen said, running back to the group with a cigar in his mouth, "Great news! I ran out of cigs, but I bummed one off of da hobo outside of da encampment over dere! He tried to hug me with his axe a few times, though."

"See?" Oktago screamed in Fliflax's face, "It happens!" He then promptly passed out and lay on the ground.

"When did you start smoking?" Yeow, Fliflax, and Nordelei asked Resdlen, simultaneously.

Resdlen chuckled, the cigar still in his mouth. "When did you get da idea dat I smoked?"

"Dwarves have beards," Oktago said, talking in his drunken state of sleep.

"Maybe I should go to some other people to help," Drift said, prepping his wings for a quick escape.

"No!" Yeow said, "At least let us help. We're sane."

"Are you three as drunk as them?" Drift asked, making sure they were as sane as they claimed.

"Yes!" Yeow said, hoping that Drift would finally tell them what was going on.

"I am a part of an organization called the Keepers of Time," Drift explained, "We are in charge of making sure that fixed points in time don't get changed."

"Fixed points?" Fliflax questioned.

"In time, there are many small things that can change. An unimportant person is killed who was supposed to be alive. Fixed points are a totally different ball game." Drift took a large breath, making the group (except for Resdlen and Oktago) think that the explanation would be long-winded.

He continued, "If someone goes back in time and changes a fixed point, that could impact the entire universe. If certain events are changed, the Alliance could've won the war a long time ago. Or vice-versa. Some of the Infinite Dragonflight are trying to heavily impact our time by changing the past."

"Well, "Oktago said, now standing up, "This Infinite Dragonflight is obviously made up of dwarves. Let's kill some noobs!"

"Actually," Drift explained, "It's made up of drakes."

Oktago screamed some crass terms and passed out yet again.

"So…" Drift asked, "Will you help us?"

"I'm in," Yeow answered.

"Me too," Nordelei said.

"Me seven!" Fliflax screamed. Yeow looked at Fliflax, seeing the bottle of Darkmoon Special Reserve in his hand. She took it out of his hand and stowed it in her knapsack.

"She stoles the precious…" Fliflax mumbled under his breath. Then, like another personality took him over, he said, "No. We don'ts need the precious, we don'ts need it. We only greeds it…"

Nordelei looked at Yeow with a distraught look. She returned the gaze. Drift opened a portal to the Caverns of Time. Yeow grabbed Resdlen and Fliflax by their collars and guided them toward the portal. Nordelei dragged Oktago into it, and Drift followed close behind.

**This chappie and the next one shall be written by the Groosinator! a.k.a. Me!**


	14. The Time of Drunks Pt 2

**The Time of Drunks: Part 2**

"Thrall, in the past," Drift explained, "was once a slave to the humans. He was placed in the slave encampments with many other orcs-"

"Where's my cig?" Resdlen interrupted loudly, with his cigar hanging out of his mouth. The effects of the Darkmoon Special Reserve hadn't quite worn off.

"It's up your butt!" Fliflax screamed, also a victim of the beverage. Oktago was still lying on the ground, unconscious. He couldn't handle alcohol as well as the other two could, and even they couldn't handle it whatsoever.

"Anyway," Drift continued, "They kept him as a prisoner, but as you know, he-"

"Where are my freaking pets?" Oktago screamed, slightly lifting his head off the ground.

"You didn't bring any pets!" Nordelei responded, but Oktago didn't catch this. He was already unconscious again.

"Anyway," Drift started yet again, the annoyance clear in his voice, "He has to escape because he is in Orgrimmar now, in the present. A human girl was supposed to break Thrall out, but she has not come, and-"

"So," Resdlen interrupted once again, "what you're saying is that you guys lost my cig?"

"Maybe it went up your butthole!" Fliflax screamed, followed by sudden squealing. He ceased the screaming and started to dance.

"Wait!" Oktago said, starting to stand up, "Why are we in these caverns?"

"I've been asking dat for hours!" Resdlen said, looking at Yeow for answers.

She sent a stun spell at Resdlen and Fliflax, putting them to sleep.

"Anyway," Drift said, the frustration very clearly shown, "Thrall was supposed to be saved by a human named Taretha. She has not come, and we need you to save him instead."

"Let's go…hic!" Oktago screamed, stumbling around like a drunk (in all fairness, he was drunk at the moment). Yeow unstunned Fliflax and Resdlen, dragging them as they walked through the portal into the past.

"To the encampment!" Nordelei screamed, summoning his Archerus Deathcharger and riding to where the slaves were held. Yeow followed on her talbuk, Oktago on his war bear, Resdlen on his raptor, and Fliflax on his kodo. On their way, they had to stop many times to make Resdlen quit "hugging" the animals with his Starsurge.

They made it too the encampment in one piece, with the exclusion of Resdlen, who ended up in a total of seven pieces. Outside, Yeow put Resdlen back together and prepared to invade the camp.

"Hey," Nordelei realized, "I think the alcohol has worn off of these guy!" He turned to see Yeow's backpack open, her looking frantically at the others, and each of them taking long drinks from the bottle. Nordelei took the bottle and scolded each of them in a cruel and personal way. He then looked at the bottle and took a long drink.

"What are you doing?" Yeow screamed, knocking the bottle onto the ground, shattering it.

"I was thirsty!" Nordelei said. Smiling, he added, "I don'ts da think that it might not be possibly not be having a possibly impossible effect with the monkeys and such!" Yeow was looking at the sad group she was stuck with. Nordelei was smiling and stumbling around like a lovestruck idiot, Oktago was licking the ground where the bottle fell, Resdlen was chewing his cigar (don't try this at home, kids), and Fliflax was mumbling to himself.

"You know what?" she said, "I'll help Thrall escape on my own. Okay?" The four nodded with blank expressions, not having any idea of what she was talking about. She sighed and started to talk slower, "I'm going to save the orc-men, okay?"

"Why didn't you say that earlier, question mark?" Nordelei said, actually saying the words "question mark".

Yeow sighed again and said, "You go to town, and don't kill anybody. Just hang out there while I save the orcs, okay?" They nodded, mounted, and rode off toward Southshore. Yeow cracked her neck. She was going in.

As the drunken quartet walked in the vicinity of Southshore, they were instantly transformed into humans. Once the transformation happened, Fliflax wiggled around uncomfortably. Human and tauren anatomy were VERY different. They walked around, the citizens looking weirdly at them. They were stumbling, chewing on cigars, and mumbling to themselves.

They walked into the inn, immediately going toward the bar. They each ordered 6 beers. By the end of their drinking, Oktago was on the ground once again, Resdlen was screaming at people about his cigar, Nordelei had tied up multiple people thinking they were the Scourge, and Fliflax was dancing and smashing everything in the room. Fliflax started to take his mind back from the drinks, only to order four more beers.

Resdlen walked outside of the inn with his "borrowed" fishing pole and tried to catch fish in the grass. He got pretty upset when he couldn't, spouting some very harsh terms. He then started to hear an interesting conversation from the fishermen. Resdlen (under alcohol's control) thought they were pretty stupid for fishing in the water, but he was paying more attention to what they were saying.

"Hal…" one of them said.

"Yea, Nat?" Hal answered.

"Had that dream again last night…" Nat replied.

"Which one?"

"This one's real grim…" Nat started, "So the king's kid, Arthas… Well, he goes out to battle evil, along with Uther… But tragically, Arthas is consumed by the evil and becomes evil himself… Well, he comes back to the king pretendin' to be nice, draws his sword, and runs the king through, elbow to… well you know… kills him on the spot." Hal shook his head and said, "Shut up and fish, Nat."

Oktago felt the alcohol putting him to sleep again, but right before he fell into unconsciousness, he heard one word: Ashbringer...

Yeow and Thrall rode to Tarren Mill under Thrall's request that they find Taretha. He had expected Taretha, not Yeow. They arrived at the inn at Tarren and, walking in, they discovered Taretha stuck in a cage of shadow. She was frozen in time, and a booming voice came from behind them.

"If you wish to save your friend," the voice said, "come out here and face me!"

Thrall and Yeow walked out, thinking they were prepared for whatever stood before them. They weren't. An immense Infinite Dragonflight flew above them. He smiled and charged toward them. They jumped out of the way. The drake blew a breath of silver that killed the grass it went over. Thrall jumped over the breath, and landed a hard hit with his mace on top of the Dragonflight. It jerked its head upward, catching Thrall's arm in the silver breath. The drake stopped breathing altogether as Thrall crawled over to Yeow, holding over his arm, a fierce look of pain upon his face.

Yeow pulled Thrall over to her and initiated a resurrection spell. It wasn't really much of a resurrection spell, usually only resurrecting people who were near death, but hopefully this one could resurrect an arm even if the rest of the body was alive. She tried multiple times, but could not complete the process.

"No need for that," she heard Drift say, flying towards her. He landed next to Thrall and blew a gust of bronze air towards his arm, healing it fully. Taretha walked out of the inn, dazed and disoriented. Then both her and Thrall stood stiffly in a position, frozen in time. Yeow looked with a questioning gaze at Drift.

"Their memories are being replaced with what was supposed to happen on this day," he explained. Both him and Yeow were transported instantly back to the Caverns of Time. Next to them were the other four, starting to look less drunk.

"Oh," Drift remembered, "I just remembered. The leader of us here at the Caverns has asked for your permission for me to travel with you!"

Yeow smiled and nodded saying, "You have my permission." She looked at the others.

"Ya, man. He can come with us," Resdlen said.

"As long as he doesn't cause any trouble," Fliflax said.

"Yeah," Nordelei said.

"MONKEYS!" Oktago said as he fell to the ground.

"I think that's a yes," Yeow said.

**This is Groose again. Next chapter will be written by Raudhr again! **


	15. A Surprising Discovery

**A Tale of Three Druids (And maybe a Death Knight or Two)**

**Chapter 15: An unlikely discovery**

**This is my author's note, just wanted to let you guys know that since you reviewed, you get recognition. And guess what? U MAD, FRIEND? U MAD?**

**QuotetheRavennevermore: Or whatever your name is. Point being, all reviews are good reviews, even Flames! They make great bonfires! And just a heads up, read Groose Almighty's version, he's much better about updating. It's the same story, but we co-write it, and he uploads my chapters much faster than I upload his.**

**Eternalenergy: Yeah, I thought Resdlen was cool. Read Raven's note, it's got some good info. Thanks for reviewing!**

The human* took a long draught of cherry grog. He sighed.

Why was he on guard duty so much? It wasn't like the Horde ever tried to invade their little camp. But no, the captain's word was law. Damn him! He cursed and slammed his blade into the soil. He was a warrior, not some peon to be kept at camp!

He was so consumed in his drunken rage that he did not notice the troll looming behind him. A dagger glinted in the torchlight, and then tore through the soft flesh of the warrior's throat, and the human's eyes went blank.

A rosy gleam slowly glowed over the barren landscape. A blue shape emerged from a simple canvas tent, stretching in the morning dawn. Despite the chill, Resdlen wore only woolen undergarments. He observed his breath in the icy air. He shook his head in amazement that something as curious and trivial as that could exist in a land that hung in the balance on one man, or, as the case may be, one lich.

He noted rather calmly that a large bronze drake lay curled up next to their campfire. He shrugged.

He poked his head into Nordelei's tent, squinting to see through the murky darkness. He seized the Blood Elf's shoulder and shook it.

"A large dragon is sleeping outside da camp. I'm not sure how he got dere." He whispered to the groggy Death Knight. Nordelei seized his warhammer, Hatebringer, and peered out of the tent.

"Oh, that's just Drakenrakenfalacken. But you can call him Drift." Resdlen snorted.

"Sounds like some stupid human name." He chuckled, and withdrew his head from the tent, jogging to Oktago's tent. "YO! WAKE UP YA GREEN PIECE OF [_profanity removed for innocence of audience_]"

Oktago snarled at the troll, and then crawled out of the tent. "I'll put an arrow in your-"

"Hush!" Nordelei barked, "There are women in camp." Resdlen blushed shamefully, and stood up.

Fliflax stumbled out of his tent, rubbing his temples.

"Headache?" Nordelei asked, a sympathetic look on his face.

"Damn hangovers… can't believe I… married her of all people…"he grumbled, promptly sitting on a rotten log, which shattered under his weight. "Mother of… can't believe… a dragon… Mickey damn Mouse…" he muttered as he stormed into the distance. Nordelei chuckled.

"You druids aren't so regal and mysterious after a heavy night of drinking, are you now?" he said to Resdlen, but then realized that he was speaking to a hallucinogenic, monkey-loving, obnoxious, snide troll. He wasn't mysterious anytime.

Oktago, as if reading the younger man's thoughts, chuckled "He's not too mysterious anyway, eh? Any ideas where we could find some dwarves to kill?" The mail-clad hunter asked. At this Resdlen perked up and stopped murmuring to Jack.

"Actually, there's an Alliance camp a few leagues west. Coordinates Y-123.45, and X-745.6723, ta be exact on ya mugs." Nordelei gawked at Resdlen, while Oktago began stringing his bow. Jack just kept picking bugs out of his fur.

The druid rolled his shoulders, rising to his full height. Nordelei, who was short as Blood Elves go, peered upwards at the lofty tusks. The massive blue expanse of the troll's torso dwarfed even lumbering Oktago. Oktago just analyzed the location of the heart and any other major arteries that would prove fatal if severed. Jack, as always, continued eating bugs out of his fur.

Resdlen had just began to pull out of his chest* a hardened leather vest when Yeow poked her head through the flap in the tent. "Put some clothes on!" she cried, bewildered by Resdlen's lack of apparel.

Resdlen merely chuckled and slid on a fine silk shirt, with a suspiciously colorful handkerchief ruffled across the breast. "A token from a lady? Who would fall in love with you, ya big blueberry?" Oktago taunted, a dirty grin spreading across his face. Resdlen slid on tight leather leggings and smirked knowingly.

"Oh, I have ma… charms." Nordelei burst into gales of merriment, shaking his head at the troll's shamelessness. Yeow uttered a noise of disgust, at which Resdlen just chuckled even more.

"Milady, we have located an enemy encampment. Permission to engage?" Nordelei asked, adopting the formal tone he used with the Tauren. She sighed.

"Granted." She replied, and then muttered "Men these days…"

**Footnotes**

*** **Therefore, an idiot.

*****A wooden one, not the part of his body. Just to be clear.

**And now, part 2!**

The captain peered out into the blizzard, and burrowed deeper into his fur coat.

Ordinarily, he'd have granted special leniency for the guards in such bad weather, but when they rose in the morning, they found the dead body of one of the guards, as well as a note in Orcish, which no one could read.

The captain took another sip of his steaming coffee. Bad business, being murdered in the night like that. And, the man was drunk, so they could hardly say good things about the way he went out.

He sighed. He had given orders to keep the whole thing secret, not to acknowledge it.

He loosened his sword in its scabbard. He couldn't help but think that this was the perfect place for an ambush. His guards would have low visibility, but they would stand out like fireflies in the night thanks to the fires. He wouldn't have sanctioned their creation, but he soon realized that the camp would freeze to death without them.

He turned to the cooks. They were two succubi, summoned by the resident warlock. The men didn't like them, but the camp simply couldn't spare a warrior to make food. He had considered using treants summoned by their druid, but one stray spark and poof! One toasty treant.

A dull thud sounded to his left. He started, drawing his sword, but it was nothing. Nonetheless, he thought, he might as well go check on the guard. It was unwise to take anything for granted.

He peered through a gap in the palisade and recognized the coat-laden shape of the dwarf. He pulled his coat around himself. "You're getting paranoid in yer old age, there." He muttered to himself.

**And now, Part 3**

The trio held their breath as the captain peered at Nordelei's ghoul, dressed in heavy coats. The human ambled away, satisfied with the disguise.

Resdlen released a pent-up breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. Oktago ran through the dwarf with his sword for the twelfth time, which seemed a bit unnecessary to Nordelei.

"Good move wit da Death Grip," Resdlen patted the Blood Elf on the back, "Da look on his face!" he stifled a chuckle.

Crawling on his elbows, the lightly clad druid crept towards the palisade.

Just as he prepared to leap into the sleepy camp, a torch-bearing sentinel trudged around the corner. The troll froze, not daring breath of even move his eyes. He began to frantically mutter the incantation to Hibernate. He knew he couldn't force the Night Elf into sleep, but he could distract him and make him weary enough to wander back to his post.

The Night Elf turned and looked directly at Resdlen, suspicion in his eye. The troll bit his tongue, willing the guard to shuffle away. Much to his chagrin, the warrior began to amble towards him, holding the torch up to illuminate the trembling druid.

Just as he opened his mouth to raise the alarm and bring everyone and their uncle and their uncle's Murloc upon them, an arrow sprouted from his throat and he began to collapse.

Resdlen dove to catch the corpse. He let the guard plop gently into the snow with a small puff of powder.

Turning back at Oktago and smirking, he shifted into lion form. Waiting a moment to attune himself to the pattern of snowfall, shadows, and wind, he prowled towards the unsuspecting Alliance outpost.

Sliding into the camp, he examined all of the possible targets. He could probably quietly take out one of the succubi manning frying some nondescript meat, but the warlock controlling them would sense their death and he'd suddenly have a big, loud, blade-wielding problem on his hands.

Shifting through the drifts, he studied a draenei magician. She was some sort of caster, he couldn't tell what.

She cocked her head, and her tail began thrashing from side to side. Well, she's wagging her tail, Resdlen observed wryly, unaware of the danger he was in.

She raised a thick wooden handle with a chain attached to one end. Resdlen's eyes followed the chain until it came to a brutal spiked ball.

His eyes slid back up to the Draenei's eyes. She was staring near him, though to a few feet left of him. She pointed at a patch of snow, and a glowing object began to rise out of the hard packed soil.

Resdlen began to inch backwards, but the totem, as the mysterious object revealed itself to be, flung a fireball at him, sensing his life force. He dove, claws outstretched, at the draenei, aiming to kill her, so her mana would release the totem.

Unfortunately, it seemed a gnome with a horn dangling around his neck had noticed, and blew until his cheeks were as rosy as dawn itself.

Resdlen crashed into the shaman, his claws sinking deep into her shoulders. Pouncing away from her, he backed up into a corner.

The gnome was nowhere to be seen, while the captain, who was plate-clad and chanting some spell, charged, and a mail wearing dwarf loaded ammunition into his bulky shotgun.

Resdlen shifted into his humanoid form, praying the wards that surrounded his hard leather armor would protect him, and flung his arms outward. Snow melted and rushed towards the captain.

To his surprise, the sodden clump contained a shocked gnomish rogue as well as a dwarf and a human. Resdlen pressed his hands flat against the wooden palisade, and transferred enough of his precious mana to make it live again. Three treants shuffled in front of him, taking the heat from the Alliance.

Resdlen drew upon the last of his mana, and began chanting and allowing the energy to flow freely through him. Lightning began to strike the area, and fog rolled in. Rain and hail pelted the faces of the unarmored, and winds knocked them of their feet. Resdlen could feel the last of his reserves dribbling out of his core, and finally the storm died.

He roared loudly, if nothing but to confuse them, and flung out his arms once more. He knew he could not conjure anything else, but he did accomplish his goal, as the soldiers flinched, expecting an onslaught of nature magic.

He flipped over the palisade, grimacing as splinters drew blood.

Drawing his staff, he snarled. He would not go down without a true struggle worthy of the Horde!

Fortunately, he didn't have to fight at all, for an imposing shadow-clad figure rose from the snow, nimbus of lightning crackling around his hands. The ground underneath the Alliance warriors began to glow, and seeping shadow crept into their bodies. An arrow glanced off the Thorium plate of the Death Knight, as he sent his maniacal ghoul to wreak havoc. An arrow flew from behind him, and two twin gnomes froze. A sweep of the shadowy figure's hand, and the soldiers felt their blood boil inside their veins, and they all cried out in agony. Glowing runes flew from the man's gauntlet, and began to whirl around one man, and he began lashing as if possessed.

This was simply too much for the captain, and he commanded everyone to get inside the palisade, while warriors planted their tower shields in the doorways. The captain himself took the gap closest to his enemies, fortifying it with the power of the Light.

After a few minutes of nothing, he peered around his towering shield. The enemies were long gone. He sighed a sigh of relief, and removed his shield.

It was at that moment that a ghoul leapt onto his face and broke his neck.

**Was it good? I didn't mean to make it as long as it was, it just sort of… happened. Tell me if there's anything you don't like! This doesn't mean I'll change; I just take that into consideration. And, I'm looking for a beta, not sure if Groose is, so if you can beta for me, shoot me a PM and I'll scope you out! That is all, have a very nice life.**


	16. DEHTA

**Alagaesia High School**

**Chapter 16**

**I am soooooooooooooo sorry about being this late! SO SORRY! I don't expect forgiveness, just reviews. Now, recognition for those who stuck through my laziness (which is unforgivable)! Though, my Internet did go down for a fair amount of time, so I have some excuse.**

**Axel 19: Well, no ExA, but thanks for the review! Be prepared for some ExA friendship!**

**My Generation: *Sighs* Not sure why you took the time to review if you were going to say something stupid like that. Well, get a life or stop breathing valuable air!**

**VoXR: Thanks for the review, and I am only relieved that this story is going to wrap up. With, of course, a satisfying battle scene. I am never writing two stories at once again!**

**Axel 18: Well, hallo! Good to know that the chapter is even better the second time, and try writing something! It's hard work, but fun!**

**Du Hjlodhr Sundavar: I really hate NxE. REALLY hate it. But yeah, I suppose that Eragon shall be single. Oh well!**

**The M.H.T. of R: That chapter didn't quite feel right to me. And the thing you showed me actually disappears, I've tried it.**

**FightTillTheLastBreath: Well, here's the chapter, eh?**

Eragon circled Arya, sweat beading on his brow. She slid around him, concentration clear on her face.

Stepping forward, she brought the PVC blade whistling towards the taller boy's head. Leaping backwards, Eragon re-examined his opponent.

"Come on, both of you, this isn't Girl Scouts! Let's go! Let's go!" Glaedr barked, following their every movement. "C'mon, Eragon, Galbatorix would have ended this by now! Attack! Be decisive! Control the field!' The coach snapped, growing weary of Eragon's game of cat and mouse.

Eragon dove at Arya's knees, stabbing the blade directly forward. She staggered backwards, narrowly avoiding receiving a painful blow to the shins.

Glaedr snarled and seized a PVC spear. Hurling it at Eragon, he charged, using nothing but a dagger to drive the warrior back. Arya took the opportunity to strike, broadly slashing at the young teen. Eragon, too preoccupied fighting the coach, gasped as the blade collided with his ribcage. Sitting down, he grimaced.

"You have to be ready for anything!" His coach reprimanded him. "At any moment could one of his soldiers stop you mid-fray. You can't just expect to fight Galbatorix, you have to be ready to take on him plus a whole squad." Eragon bit back a withering response, and took a long draught of water.

This trio had been training for hours on end for the big tournament between the Empire and all the other teams. The pressure was on, and Glaedr reacted by ruthlessly driving Eragon and Arya into the ground with grueling training exercises, complete with a healthy dose of weightlifting.

"Glaedr, with all due respect, sir, wouldn't it be wise to allow us one day of rest before the tournament? It seems counter-productive to train us 'til we retch, for we'll be in a sorry shape to fight Galbatorix." Glaedr smirked.

"I'm giving you two. One, and you'd wake up with stiff muscles. Two, and you'll be fresh."

Eragon shook his head in confusion. "Sir, the tournament is tomorrow, so we don't have time for more rests."

Glaedr chuckled. "This is a rest day. Now up!"

Eragon sighed and drew his sword. The frays continued for hours on end, neither party willing to surrender to the other. Finally, Glaedr accepted that the warriors would need rest, and so he sent them on their way. Eragon jogged to his house, opening the door.

"Hey! Saphy! I need you!" he hollered. She peered around the corner of the house, grinning.

"I'm training." She said curtly, and swung back around the corner. Her brother sprinted around the corner, suddenly very sick of her new secretive attitude.

To his surprise, he found her with the green-wearing freshman from earlier, but they were both in NMRRPG gear. "Training? For what, may I ask?" Eragon asked with a sly grin.

"NMRRPG, Captain Pervert." She snapped, and turned her back. He shrugged and jogged into his house.

Pulling his shin guards and other padding off, he turned to the window, where he heard a noise. His jaw dropping, he stared at none other than Arya Drottningu! "Try not to strip yet, I want to talk to you." She said dryly.

Blushing deeply, Eragon muttered "Sorry."

She chuckled. "Look, I just wanted to say that the army is gonna stop by Braum's, you know, the one on Second and Boulevard? Yeah, that one. We're gonna either nurse our wounds or celebrate victory, but either way, I figure they'd want the AC to show." Eragon nodded.

He wasn't surprised that Nasuada had given him the position of Acting Captain. It was no secret that Eragon was the best soldier.

Arya gestured for Eragon to come closer. He sidled over obediently. She raised a cupped hand to her mouth and whispered in his ear "Be careful. I don't think I can deal with you getting hurt again." Eragon nodded to her. He had no intentions of letting Galbatorix touch him.

"Eat a good breakfast, get some sleep, don't get hung over, you know the drill." He waved her away. Closing the window, he watched her leave.

Pulling his jeans and shirt from his body, he lay on his bed, allowing all of his tensed muscles to unwind and relax. Without realizing it, the deep blanket of sleep enveloped him.

**Have some Part Two, with a dash of salt!**

"OI! Wake up sleeping beauty, I ain't gonna kiss ya!" Roran yelled, snapping Eragon out of his mid-day nap.

"Are you sure? They say I'm very handsome." Eragon replied, rolling out of bed.

Roran tossed the bedraggled warrior some clothes and snapped "Put some clothes on, it's time to milk the cows." Eragon cocked his head.

"Is Uncle indisposed?" Roran turned back to his younger cousin.

"He's quite busy making your dinner, ya ingrate. Now get to work, damn you!" Eragon sighed and slipped on a smock.

Jogging outside, he observed his great empire. Four cows, a llama, two horses, a pig, plenty of goats, and assorted farm tools. He began milking the cows. Wiping his hands on the soiled smock, he glanced at his watch.

"Dinner should be ready by now!" He shouted to his cousin, who was busy trying to calm down the Megs, one of their goats.

"I find your observation irrelevant! Now if you don't mind," he seized one of Megs's legs, narrowly avoiding an excruciating kick, "I'd appreciate it if ya went back to work!" Eragon shrugged and moved on to the next cow. After another hour, he stood up.

"Dinner must be ready by now!" The younger boy cried.

"Well, it's not, so keep milking the damn cows!" His brother snarled.

"I've already milked the cow, sheared the llama, fed the horses, AND watered Raudhr! What else is there to do?" Eragon demanded, gesticulating wildly.

"Dig out some brush! We're having a bonfire tomorrow!" He responded, clearly fed up with Megs trying to injure him.

"What about dinner?" The younger boy asked, still wanting an answer.

"GET TO WORK!" His older brother roared. Eragon stomped away, grumbling under his breath. Seizing a hoe, he began hacking at the roots of an old dead bush.

Garrow poked his head out of the window and rang a bell, signaling dinner. Sprinting to the house, Eragon tossed aside the implement.

Slipping inside the cracked door, he gaped at the food arrayed before him. Mashed potatoes, cheese, honey-roasted ham, tomato basil soup, and many other great dishes were arrayed before him. Such a feast was laid out before him, Eragon actually doubted the reality of this moment.

Garrow smirked and said "Yes, it's real, and yes, it's for you and your brother." Eragon looked up at Garrow for one moment, and then dove for the food. Heavenly aromas drifted to him. Tartness exploded across his tongue as he popped a cranberry in his mouth.

He heard Roran start in on the banquet with just as much eagerness as he. Tearing a turkey leg from its body, he took a huge bite. "Shank you!" He yelled at Garrow brightly, his mouth still crammed with delicious dark meat. Knocking back a mug of steaming coffee, well laced with honey, he rose and seized his uncle in a massive embrace.

Turning quickly back to the food, he noticed goat cheese featured prominently in all the dairy products, as well as plenty of things that they grew on the farm.

Eragon's eyes widened as he realized that Garrow had been stockpiling all the things that Eragon and Roran had estimated had gone missing. "Noticed the ingredients?" Garrow asked wryly. Roran gasped in amazement as he too realized what had just come to Eragon's attention. Turning back to their uncle, the boys chuckled at his "theft" of his own property.

"No way!" Roran cried. "Well, actually, there is a way, as I just demonstrated." Garrow responded dryly, settling into an ornate chair. "Just wait until you see dessert." He advised them, taking reasonable bites of cornbread. Eragon returned to his rich tomato basil soup.

A few minutes later, the meal was devastated, though plenty of food remained, and all three men were leaning back, patting their stomachs.

"And now, just in case you lot don't have diabetes yet, have some apple spice cake!" Garrow said, rising. Roran followed his father closely, as did Eragon. Whipping a washcloth from over a Dutch oven, a steaming apple spice cake melted any reserve Garrow, Eragon, or Roran may have had.

Seizing forks, they began tearing chunks out of the dessert straight from the oven.

It wasn't long before the all staggered back to the table, sighing contentedly. Garrow muttered "Good night" and something that sounded like "Happy Hunger Games"!

Staggering off to his bed, Eragon slammed into the soft comforter and melted into sleep.

**And Now, Part 3 with a Dash of Getting the Living Crap Beaten Out of You!**

Eragon woke feeling like he could conquer the world. He remembered that this was tournament day. His confidence wavered a bit.

Defeating the most finely-armed militaries in the world is one thing, he thought, but confronting Galbatorix is entirely another. He shrugged off his worries.

However, once he reached the kitchen, he caught scent of something divine. Dashing towards the table, he found a heaping plate of corned-beef out-of-a-can hash waiting for him.

Seizing a bottle of Tabasco, he sprinkled it liberally on the steaming plate of food, and dug in. He dimly sensed Garrow exuding an amused air, and Roran eating next to him, but for the most part, he focused on breakfast. After a while, he leaned back in the chair and examined the gleaming plate.

"I can feel Mrs. Vega getting sick with our manners." Roran chuckled. Eragon seized his plate and actually licked it clean, yelling "We miss you!" to his Cotillion teacher. Roran broke down into laughter, while Garrow glared disapprovingly at the boy's etiquette.

Rising and rinsing the plate, and then depositing it in the dishwasher, the blue-eyed boy retrieved his longsword from its case. Sliding on a custom shock-absorbing helmet, he donned gut-pads, shin guards, shoulder-pads, and much armor besides, the warrior, confident in his power, roared to the skies and charged to his post!

Garrow shook his head. "Idiot." He muttered, scouring old blood-stains from a knife.

Roran shrugged and jogged after his brother, dreading the moment that he came face-to-face with the entire army of Galbatorix.

**And now, Section 2 of Part 3!**

Lining up in the front lines of the Varden, Roran examined the faces of his opponents. Some were scared. Some were condescending. It would matter little when they all clashed.

He readied his hammer. They were too numerous, and too well-trained for the Varden to defeat without the flag being captured.

Roran swore and spat into the ground. He hated his fate being handed to anyone, regardless of the fact that he trusted Eragon with his life.

Glancing at his soldiers, he saw Balder snarling defiance at the enemy, Mandel, the youngest of the troop, gulping down his anxiety and bile, Katrina grinning at the Empire, unnerving a good number of the troops, Angela, the medic, humming a few Lonely Island songs under her breath.

"Well, Angela, no battle jitters then?"

"And if ya every but a pint for an Irish guy, they're outta con- Oh, of course not. You know, the worst that can happen is Galbatorix slipping a knife between somebody's ribs then beat them with his blade, thus passing it off as a broken neck that killed them, therefore an accident." She replied cheerfully.

"Thanks for the cheer, Angela." Roran muttered dryly.

"Anytime, Stronghammer!" She cried, readying her concoctions of hearty lamb's heart, Gatorade, and cornmeal. Vile, but Roran knew well that it could keep a man on his feet after retching heavily from a cruel blow to the gut. Damn those Twins, he thought, remembering when they turned on the Varden and dealt a harsh strike to Stronghammer's abdomen.

Eragon seized his brother's shoulder. Turning, Roran snapped "What?" his nerves worn thin by battle jitters.

"I just wanted to say, take care of yourself. I wouldn't count on this lot playing fair." He flipped a rude gesture to one of the soldiers. Chuckling, he took his place towards the eastern flank of the battalion.

A large compliment of soldiers would from a shield wall and advance, protecting the assault force consisting of Arya, Raudhr, a few of the more powerful elves, and of course, Eragon and Saphira. The wall would, while making it clear where Eragon and Arya would strike, would conceal their numbers.

While they were covered, Izzy would take the place or Arya, being as they look startlingly similar. Most of the elves would stay behind, as well as Raudhr, while Arya, Eragon, Saphira, and a choice elf named Izlasyta would creep through the forest. They would then approach the far left flank, and infiltrate the fort, slaying any guards and taking the flag.

No doubt, either Galbatorix or Shruikan or both would be present, prepared to shatter any forces.

Luckily, good ol' Galby was an offensive soul (and prone to bar fights), so it was unlikely that he would waste resources assigning large quantities of guards.

And just to top it off, Nasuada ferreted out one of Galbatorix's informants, and fed him information that they would move along the western flank (the left one), but then the attack force would slide around to the eastern flank and begin a five-man surgical strike.

Naturally, this would seem illogical to Galbatorix and something would smell like a rat, but it would generate some amount of doubt, and when Roran began his own surgical strike, no doubt he would immediately validate the information and respond accordingly. But of course, he would realize that Raudhr and Arya (actually Izzy) were still behind the formation, and Ghostie, who was a ventriloquist, would be mimicking Eragon's infamous "FUS-RO-DAH!" cry. Therefore, he would have to deduce that they were trying to confuse him, and become irrational and unpredictable.

At the very least, this would mean that Galbatorix would not become defensive. Rolling his shoulders, Roran prepared for combat.

He would bash a few heads in, and then retreat, move to the eastern flank, and begin a one man Valhalla smash. Lifting his lips in a defiant snarl, he readied his hammer.

Moving his shield to take the fist volley of arrows with limited damage, (The Empire didn't agree with the Varden's policy of one archer.) crouched, tight as a lynx ready to spring, while Galbatorix mounted his makeshift tower and lifted the battle horn to his lips. It came to his mouth; the general drew breath, and blew with all his might.

The surge of soldiers nearly swept Roran off his feet, but as he had recently discovered, they went slower if you bashed whatever was in front of your shield mindlessly, like most problems.

Two arrows struck his shield, bruising the flesh on the other side. Bludgeoning viciously with his shield, Roran stood like a rock in a never-ending stream of soldiers. In that moment, despair gripped Roran, but he responded the way his family always did, and simply struck harder.

As the soldiers began to realize that they were facing Roran Stronghammer, the legendary warrior, and his troop of fierce men from Carvahall, they tightly packed back into rows, raising their shields to the defiant grins of the group.

For a moment, they stood at an impasse, the mighty warriors of Carvahall grinning, and the Empire expressionless.

Suddenly, a man toppled in the ranks of the Empire due to a misfired arrow, and chaos began again as Roran and Balder smashed into the front lines, heedless of their own safety.

A sword bruised Roran's calf, and another laid a smashing blow on his helmet, but still he fought.

As a shin guard cracked, and his helmet hangs askew, he slipped behind his lines and began loping to the eastern flank. "Godspeed, Eragon." He muttered under his breath as he spat into the ground, preparing for the most brutal attack of his life.

**And now, Section 3 of Part 3**

**(Eragon's POV)**

Eragon roared "FUS-RO-DAH! Let none escape!" as he hacked at those who attempted to flank the formation. His soldiers bellowed in response and forced their way into the front lines.

Three men thick, ten men long, the wall pushed inexorably across the battlefield. The vanguard, consisting of Ghostie, Faolin, and Firnen (the infamous freshie), bashed at the soldiers, attempting to keep Eragon and Arya out of sight.

"FOR NARNIA! AND FOR ASLAN!" Eragon cried, hurling a spear into the ribcage of one of the soldiers encroaching on breaking the wall. "Auxilium!" Eragon commanded, (this meant Help! in Latin,) not wanting the enemy to understand.

He turned to Arya. "Now." He whispered, and slipped into the forest.

Izlasyta, being a hunter, treaded after them with velvet feet. Eragon put food on the table by hunting, while Arya was simply naturally graceful. Saphira was exemplary at creeping in shadow, so she of course did just that.

Approaching the castle, Eragon wondered at the architecture. It was constructed from wooden and metal planks forming the walls, and logs dug in supporting them, while Green Briar was strung over the walls and on the ground, making approach difficult.

Ducking under a branch, he surveyed the guards. Nothing much, two well-trained soldiers, but nothing that the group couldn't handle quickly and quietly. The soldiers would not be allowed to make noise after being struck a killing blow, but they could certainly claim that they yelped before the blow was dealt.

Eragon, as such, initialized the fight with a brutal strike to the man on the left's throat, while he was mirrored by Arya on his left. A swift stab to the heart, and the men toppled.

Just as he was about to take a step, Izlasyta seized his shoulder and pointed at a gleam on the ground. Fishing wire, strung taut at shin level. Eragon nodded silent thanks and slipped over the obstruction, walking into the flag room.

Unsurprisingly, Galbatorix was present, sitting quite calmly on a lawn chair. Infinitely more shockingly, Murtagh stood poised to strike in front of his liege lord, a shield on his left arm. "Stand aside, Murtagh. We number four, you number two. To defend him would be folly." Eragon said roughly, moving to sweep Murtagh out of the way.

A shape loomed by his ear and he staggered away, ears ringing. One of Izlasyta's javelins crashed into the warriors shoulder, checking his momentum.

Galbatorix nodded to someone behind Eragon, and two powerful arms descended and began choking both Arya and Izlasyta. Eragon spun around to find Shruikan, towering as ever. "Don't bother fighting him. Steroids work wonders, you know." Galbatorix said matter-of-factly from behind him.

Turning viciously back to Galbatorix, Eragon found that the older man had a switchblade held firmly in his hand. "If you try to do anything, anything at all, you will die. After Saphira, of course. I should hope that you two friends would be wise enough to keep their mouths shut, for fear of not waking up one night, courtesy of the Forsworn." Eragon gulped, considering running, but realized that while Galbatorix would be convicted of murder, Arya would be no more alive for that.

"Alright," he muttered hoarsely, "what do you want?"

Galbatorix chuckled. "Who's to say that I don't just want you dead? You've jumped members of the gang, smashed a bottle of Absolut over my head, you dated a girl I wanted, what can I say? You deserve to die." He pointed out.

"All very nice, Galbatorix, but your logic eludes me. Killing me here would be hard to clean up, and I can't say that bothering you is a mortal sin." Eragon declared, determined to bravo his way to winning.

"Don't bother with the bravo; I can stab a clever man as easily as a defiant one. And why shouldn't I kill you? You're a nobody, and I've got the police paid off, believe you me. The case would be investigated, but then it'd just melt away."

Eragon smirked. "I think you're forgetting that the whole Varden would demand an investigation, and even if you broke my neck, somebody would notice the stab wound afterwards. There would be riots, there would be extensive investigations, and that's not the best thing for such a black-hat fellow as you, now is it?"

Grudgingly, Galbatorix nodded. "Perhaps not," he conceded, "but there is no end to the ways I can have you and your friends' lives end. And I, of course, am in no hurry. A year is a day to a man such as me. And trust me; a year is plenty of time for a house to burn down, animals to escape, an uncle to have a heart attack, that sort of thing. When you have so much, there are so many targets to choose from. But, speculation pisses me off. Let's get to the point, shall we? I want you to lose this battle. Let's just say, bets were placed, and money is money is money. I want to lay down your sword, yelp, and we'll just go with the story that I outclassed you. It doesn't have to be painful. But of course, it can be. It can be more painful that you can imagine."

Eragon considered the proposition. He wasn't the type of person to go along with this, but he wasn't the kind of person to waste Arya's life saving his own pride either.

He was spared the decision, however, by an amazing event.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Murtagh was breaking Galbatorix's arm. In a blur, the blade was in Murtagh's hand, and Galbatorix was slumped against the wall.

Blood dripped from the knife, and Galbatorix looked, just, well, empty, lacking the charisma and wit that marked him in life. The blade fell to the dirt, and Murtagh was violently sick.

The voice everyone least expected to hear boomed with urgency "Everything happened the way you saw until Murtagh broke his arm. He tried to stab you, but Murtagh pushed him and he fell on his own blade. The arm broke when he fell. Understood?" Shruikan demanded.

"Of course." Eragon replied, sliding the blade in between the stiffening fingers of the gang leader.

"NO! GALBATORIX! HE'S DEAD! He, he- Dear Lord save us all, this is- I can't"- Shruikan stuttered suddenly, winking at Eragon to let him know he was acting.

"We lost?" a soldier asked, clearly dumbstruck, thinking this was role playing.

"No, no, Galbatorix, he's- he's- he actually died! He attacked, and then he fell, and- I can't even"- he said, waiting for a soldier to come in.

"MEDIC! NOW!" Eragon roared. "We have a puncture wound! Get me a stretcher and some bandages!" he commanded, though he knew well that the man was dead. A soldier stumbled in the room and sank to his knees when he saw the corpse.

The next few hours were a blur, there were press reporters, police, government officials, Eragon just saw them all as people he had to lie to, to deceive.

There were concerned faces of people he knew, people he longed to confide in, but he kept his swear to Shruikan. Nobody would know. Somewhere in there, he got a kiss from Arya.

It was all a bit hazy, but he was pretty sure she said something like "Braum's. 8:00." Stumbling into his room, he sank onto his bed.

Glancing at his watch, he found it read 7:30. For some reason, he found himself sprinting down the road like a maniac, desperate to reach Braum's by eight.

He wasn't entirely sure if he was sane anymore. He wasn't sure about anything anymore.

He stumbled in the room, bedraggled and panting. Arya handed him a burger. He looked at it, and sank into Arya's arms.

He was sure of one thing, come to think of it.

He was sure beyond any shred of doubt, that he was happy.


	17. An Interesting Rescue

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**Chapter 17: An Interesting Rescue**

**Author's note! Now, those who review, WE WANT YOU TO REVIEW EVERY CHAPTER! Just do it! It's not "annoying", it's immensely satisfying! It makes my day! PLEASE! And, of course, if you read but don't review, you're basically being lazy. Flame me if you think it's bad! I review stories all the time! WE CARE. Authors care more than you can even understand, so take the time out of your day to write "Good." That's all it takes. One word, and you've given me a good day. Right there. It makes me want to write another chapter even though it's Groose's turn.**

Resdlen woke to his comrades lying around him, suffering from wounds either inflicted by claws of long fingernails. "Ah." He sighed. "Ma girlfriend rolled in den?" He muttered, rolling to his feet. He noticed that Nordelei appeared to be dead. He accepted this with equanimity, understanding that all must come to an end. Fliflax appeared to be hibernating in bear form to attempt to slow his death. Yeow was facedown, and probably in the best shape of the lot, save Resdlen. He also realized that Oktago was gone, and came to the conclusion that the best way to solve the situation was to sit down and have a smoke. His fingers shook slightly as he lifted the match to the cigar, but he relaxed deeply as he puffed on the cigarette. "Ere, Jack." He called. That was when he realized that Jack was also gone. Rage sparked in his eyes, and he rose to his full height. "Killing and kidnapping ma friends is one ting, but when ya take Jack… There will be no escape!" He roared, and loped away, pulling his staff from his shoulders. While in Northrend, he had obtained a new weapon. Magic rolled off the length of iron like smoke, and it glowed ever so faintly, mildly, suggesting contained power, pressing to be free. And when men saw it become free, they saw things they took for granted, leaves, twigs, water, rise up and fight as fiercely as the mighty champion who commanded them, resplendent in his fury, energies no warrior could comprehend flowing over him. He fervently prayed for an opportunity to unleash such a power that they could not stop his strength and it would crush them like shells beneath a Kodo. Then it occurred to him that he knew not who he faced. He shrugged. That was irrelevant. What mattered was that they took Jack, and therefore, had to die. It seemed that Jack was what linked the poor troll to sanity. In which case, the monkey really needed to get its act together. Crouching behind a drift of the heavy snows that characterized Northrend, Resdlen peered at a passerby. A human, in solid plate armor, walking confidently on the ice. Resdlen shrugged, and analyzed the warrior. Magic pulsed off the blade, and the breastplate, and the warrior himself. Therefore, he was a paladin. His eyebrows knitting, Resdlen noted how powerful this one was. He would have judged him to be level 75-80. To rise and attack him would have been a dicey and foolish gamble. And one Resdlen fully intended to take, but he found himself unable to move. A slow haze descended over his vision, but he could see clearly enough to observe the paladin turn and stride towards the prone troll. As his muscles stiffened, and the haze darkened, the last thing the troll saw was the face of the paladin looming over him.

**There ya go! Have some Part Two!**

Resdlen awoke to the face of the human. But in a cloak, whispering rapidly to him. His vision fractured, and the man was back to back with the troll, fighting off endless hordes of gnolls. Now, the man was hacking at dwarves that shot at Resdlen, while the troll toted away a female gnome. Suddenly, Resdlen was blasting pillars of water, scattering the opposing Draenei like ants, while the paladin dueled the mighty Exedar Mal'drenarr. And suddenly, Resdlen was pumping green energies into the prone form of the plate-wearing champion, but it seemed futile. One lone tear rolled down the troll's face, and everything went black.

Resdlen started, looking at his surroundings. As far as he could tell, he was bound and gagged, tied to a chair. His eyes scanned the room. It was plainly furnished, just a few chairs and a table with a half-eaten platter of hardtack. Resdlen shrugged and muttered into the gag, which appeared to be a fermenting sock. The knife next to the plate flew to him and sliced through the gag, then dropped, narrowly missing one of Resdlen's enormous toes. Mumbling a few more words, the chafing rope restraining him to the chair unraveled itself. Rising to his full, glorious eight feet in height, he yawned, but immediately hunched back into his usual six. Besides, the hut wasn't exactly the best place for a lofty troll to walk around. The paladin jogged into the hut, glanced at the unbound troll unconcernedly, sat down, and began munching on hardtack. "Hr. G Lerrpyt fhe dungpsrf." The human said in Common. Resdlen sighed and sat down next to the paladin. "Ya talk wrong. I be Orc talk." Resdlen spat out in broken Common. The plate-clad man shrugged. "If I'm not mistaken, you and I have some druids to be killing." He pointed out in perfect Orcish. Resdlen cocked his head and the stranger. "Druids? Why?" he asked. "The D.E.H.T.A. took your monkey and your Orcish friend." He replied. "Ah. So ya willing ta help me recover ma friend? And da greenskin?" Resdlen asked, his hand creeping towards the knife in his belt. "Of course," an evil grin spread across the human's face, "not without a price. To recover your monkey, I want one thing, and one thing only: The life of the Orc." A few tense seconds passes, as Resdlen considered whether to stick or spell the scum first. But, with great relief, the human's straight face cracked and he burst into laughter. "Come on then. We've got some Hordies to rescue." It was then that Resdlen decided that he liked this human. A lot.

**I'm DONE! S'perfect. **


	18. Chapter 18

When Yeow woke up, Fliflax and Nordelei were unconscious, lying on the ground. Resdlen and Oktago were nowhere to be seen, and she was slightly relieved for that. She didn't know how much more of them she could take. She wriggled Nordelei and Fliflax around to wake them up, and they heard footsteps coming towards them. They were slow, and followed by thumps, so the person had a cane. Fliflax and Yeow turned toward the elderly tauren woman, and immediately pointed their gazes toward the ground. Nordelei half-smiled and shook her hand.

"I'm Nordelei, and this is-" he started to say. He looked at the tauren who were very clearly trying to stop him from saying names. He ignored them, though, and continued. "This is Fliflax and Yeow."

The woman, smiling, looked at the siblings. Her expression slowly turned to a quizzical frown, and finally a wide-eyed look of horror. She backed away and said, "Scourge! The Scourge has come!" She ran away as fast as her little legs could take her. Fliflax ran to her and pleaded, "Please! Don't tell the others we're back out here! They'll kill us!"

She stopped walking and turned to him. "You deserved to die a long time ago." She ran away, and on an instinct, Fliflax grabbed her cane and whacked her over the head with it. She fell to the ground. Yeow ran over to check the woman's pulse, and her distraught expression told them if she was still alive.

Nordelei ran up to Fliflax and punched him in the face. "What'd you do that for?"

"She was going to tell the rest of our tribe that we're back! I couldn't let that happen."

"What?" Nordelei responded, "There aren't any tauren tribes in Northrend. I'm not stupid!"

"We don't really want people to know about it," Yeow said, quietly. She had covered the woman's face with her cloak.

"What did you do to make your tribe so angry that you had to kill every innocent person that discovered you?" Nordelei demanded. Fliflax looked down. "Well, come on, then!" Fliflax still would not answer. "I deserve an answer!"

"He died." It was Yeow's voice. Nordelei turned to her to her. He raised his eyebrow in confusion. Yeow sighed and, for the first time, told the long story…

Yeow was a healer of her tribe of druids. She was one of the best, so only the most important injuries came to her. This meant that she saw some of the cruelest and most disturbing injuries. She sometimes wished she wasn't as good of a healer as she was. Unfortunately, she saw the most disturbing injury yet on her brother.

Fliflax wasn't an excellent soldier. He wasn't bad, either. He was average. But the Drakkari trolls were too good for average. Fliflax was on protection duty when the trolls invaded. The other tauren were able to fight them off, but not before some snuck away with Fliflax as a hostage. The other tauren fought there way through the Drakkari encampment to find Fliflax, in a fire, being skinned alive by the monsters. They took him to Yeow, but even Yeow couldn't heal the wounds they had inflicted on him. He eventually died.

But she couldn't accept it. She had heard of the val'kyr, a race of creatures that served the Lich King. They could resurrect him. So she took him to them, and they resurrected him, knowing that his undeath would be the thing that drove his friends away. They spat at Fliflax and Yeow, banishing from their tribe. And they came to Kalimdor. They explored the continent, hoping to never have to meet their tribe again. Until they found a certain troll…

**Please Review! NOW! CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISCM! OR PRAISE! GA OUT!**


	19. The Baring of the Scars

**A Tale of Three Druids**

**Chapter 19: The Baring of Scars**

**Let's all give a hand to Groose for that last chapter, and give him some more reviews, he deserves 'em! About blew my mind when I read it.**

As Resdlen loped over a boulder, he called back to the paladin, "So what's ya name? I'd raddah not be callin' 'Hey! Human whose name I do not know but I made an alliance wit anyways, I need some 'elp!'"

The man chuckled, and, scaling the boulder, replied "Doesn't exactly sound good, does it? Ah well, I'm Bolvar Fordragon, at your service."

The name rang a bell deep in Resdlen's memory, but since most of the names in his memory were people he had killed, or been tortured by, he chose to ignore it. He'd rather not have some pesky memory of this human slaughtering an innocent village ruin their alliance.

When the human slammed his hand on the final handhold, and heaved himself up, he surveyed the camp. Fires dotted the landscape, and many tents constructed of artificially produced material (not leather), clustered around them.

The paladin sighed. "Just like the Forge Camps all over again." He muttered.

"You and I must 'ave gone ta different Forge Camps." Resdlen remarked.

"Good hearing you have there!" the paladin exclaimed, marveling at how the troll heard the whispered phrase from at least seven meters away.

"Nope. I'm not mind-blind." He replied, and leapt into the air—off the boulder-slamming into the ground, a mushroom cloud of powdery snow marking his landing point.

"Who goes there?" A night elf cried, straining to see through the white powder.

"Me." Resdlen replied, stepping forward.

"We are the D.E.H.T.A, and we demand to know your name and intention here!" An Orc barked.

"Oh, you're druids? Me too. And I'm here to kill ya all." He stated calmly, and stepped forward, striking the spear out of the night elf's hand. Seizing it with his other hand, he crouched, and backed away, as the Orc struggled to draw his staff and the Night Elf gawked in amazement at the speed of the stranger. Stepping forward, and hurling the weapon with all his might, Resdlen flung the spear into the Orc, where it penetrated about halfway through, and then stopped. The Orc died with an expression of surprise on his face. The Night Elf reached for his dagger, but his reaction was too late. A golden hammer of Light struck him in the temple, and he collapsed, blood leaking from his mouth.

The troll chuckled. "What is Azeroth coming ta? A human and a troll hacking dere way into a tree huggah camp to save an Orc." Bolvar dropped from the boulder and clapped the druid on the shoulder.

"Azeroth is coming to one hell of a boom, mate."

After hundreds of gallons of blood, and at least nineteen small intestines, the two soldiers limped towards the prison, nursing dozens of small wounds apiece.

"All right, let's get the greenskin." Bolvar sighed.

"Oh he'll be fine, what we need ta be worrying about is Jack." Resdlen scolded him.

Kicking open the door to Jack's cage, he hefted the monkey onto his shoulders, and began strolling out. When the troll wasn't looking, Bolvar unlocked Oktago's cell, and hurried after the confident, mad, and altogether amazing troll.

When Resdlen arrived back at camp, he found Fliflax with his head in his hands, Nordelei pacing, muttering something, and Yeow sitting dejectedly next to what appeared to a dead body.

"Hallo! What are ya doin?" Resdlen asked cheerfully at first, but soon realized that they were altogether too far gone into depression to be cheered up. He sat on a log, and asked Nordelei "What 'appened, mate?"

The Death Knight spat on the ground and gestured at Yeow and Fliflax. "Ask them! Ask them why there's even more innocent blood on the ground! Ask them why a Death Knight, a lord of the Dark Arts, can't bear to be near them. Ask the traitors!" he screamed, gesticulating wildly at them. His long hair was disheveled, and his helm was lying discarded in the snow.

"Sit down, already," Resdlen said to Nordelei, and then, addressing Fliflax, asked "So. What did happen?"

The Tauren, slowly, and gruesomely related the story to Resdlen, frequently pausing to recollect himself. Even the troll looked shell-shocked after hearing this tale, but this band was soon to learn that it was for a far different reason.

He rose, and looked at Nordelei, and then Fliflax. "You fools." He spat, fury in his eyes, "Your sister, Fliflax, faced being shunned by her tribe, exiled from her home, rejection for the rest of her life, and this is how you repay her?" He whirled around to Nordelei and struck him full in the face. "If you were skinned and dying, and you knew it was over, you would never feel again, and then you woke, to find you had a new start, would you blame the one who saved you?" Turning again to Fliflax, he roared "Your sister faced a punishment almost as great as yours to give you a life, you craven fool! LIVE IT!" He rose and stormed away, disgust clear on his face.

Everyone looked amazed at this outburst of emotion and forgiveness, from a very unexpected front.

Nordelei rose and made to follow the troll, but Bolvar's heavy hand descended on his shoulder and gripped until the hardened warrior shifted with the pain.

"Let it go." He hissed in the Blood Elf's ear, and forced him into a seated position.

Fliflax shook his head, however. "No, Bolvar. If that's the one thing Resdlen has taught me, one must never let any precious moment of our lives go." With that, he bounded after the troll, determined to have words with him.

**Super-amazing emotional chapter! Man, I almost couldn't write that, the image in my head was so powerful. I feel the need to thank my co-author Groose Almighty for thinking up this plot bunny, for I think that is the most emotional I have ever gotten in my writing, or for that matter, in any other form of expression. Even the finale of Alagaesia High (my first completed fic) wasn't this powerful. Dang, Resdlen is a character I just really love, I feel like he is what really gives this story its power, its emotion, but without all the others, I don't think that it would be the same. Thank you for reading, and reviews are appreciated.**


	20. Author alert

**Author ALERT!**

**All right, my friends, you deserve an explanation for Groose's lack of writing. He bought a new computer, and junked the old one, but the problem is, his new comp is a Mac, so he has to save up to buy Microsoft word on it. Just making sure that you guys knew that he has a legitimate excuse. Bye now! Thanks for reviewing, especially QuotetheRavennevermore, I was checking my stats, (did you know that you get a high off of people appreciating something you put out in public? And you can also get addicted to it. Which sucks for me. Because I think I am.) and you put me on your favorites! I love your face! But, I must say, most of the plot was invented by Groose, so give him the credit for the most part. Now, sorry for those of you who thought you got another chapter.**


End file.
